STURGIS, S.D. – A report from the South Dakota Highway Patrol indicates the Florida driver of a semi truck and trailer that crashed into a Sturgis home August 10th may have fallen asleep at the wheel.
The patrol says initially the driver told them she swerved to miss a dead animal in the road. However, once they reviewed Sturgis area traffic camera footage near the scene of the crash, they noticed no evidence of anything in the road when the incident occurred.
After another interview was conducted with the driver, she told the patrol there was a chance she fell asleep.
The driver, identified as Maria De Hombre, and a passenger were both taken to Monument Hospital in Sturgis following the crash for treatment of injuries.
The homeowner, Ronald Weins, was not hurt.
The accident happened approximately 6:15 a.m. the morning of August 10. De Hombre was driving eastbound when the truck left the roadway just past I-90, Exit 32, entered the south ditch, went through a chain link fence and crashed into the home on Dickson Drive.
Damage to the home, which was knocked off its foundation, was listed in excess of $176,000.
