WHITEWOOD, S.D. – The South Dakota Highway Patrol is investigating a two vehicle crash that left one person with life threatening injuries.
The patrol says the accident happened at approximately 5:45 Wednesday evening on Highway 34, just off I-90’s Exit 23.
Patrol spokesman Tony Mangan says a 2005 Dodge Durango was traveling eastbound on Highway 34 when it left the roadway to the south, crossed into the westbound lane and collided with the driver’s side of a 2015 Ford F350 pickup pulling a trailer.
The driver of the Durango, identified as 51-year-old Buddy King of Box Elder, had to be extricated from the vehicle and was flown by Life-Flight to Monument Hospital in Rapid City with life threatening injuries. He was not wearing a seatbelt.
Mangan says the driver of the Ford Truck, a 73-year-old male who was not identified, was wearing a seatbelt and was not injured. He says there were passengers in the vehicle, but wasn’t sure on how many.
Both lanes of travel on Highway 34 as well as Exit 23, were closed for a time as first responders and law enforcement cleared the scene.
The highway patrol is investigating the crash.
