PARKSTON - Four vehicles were involved on a crash Monday in a construction zone at the James River bridge in Hutchinson County, leaving one person seriously injured and eight others with minor injuries.
The crash happened at 3:05 p.m. Monday on State Highway 44, located 14 miles east of Parkston. A 1991 Volvo semi-truck with a grain trailer driven by Clarence Klein, Jr., 55, of Gregory.
According to the South Dakota Department of Public Safety, the Volvo was traveling west on Highway 44 when it drove into a Department of Transportation road construction area. Westbound vehicles were being redirected into the eastbound lane to bypass construction. At the time, DOT workers and a pilot car driver were making room for a 2006 Peterbilt Semi with a flatbed trailer to cross through the construction area.
The Volvo driven by Klein then drove into the westbound lane and struck three other vehicles: a 2016 Dodge Ram 3500 DOT pickup, a 2005 Chrysler Town and Country DOT pilot car and the 2006 Peterbilt semi.
A 19-year-old male in the DOT pickup was transported to the Parkston hospital with serious, non-life-threatening injuries. The 46-year-old female pilot car driver and the 37-year-old male driving the Peterbilt had minor injuries and were wearing seatbelts.
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Three male workers not in vehicles, ages 18, 18, and 43, suffered minor injuries. Three female passengers, ages 53, 11, and 10, were in the Volvo at the time of the crash and suffered minor injuries.
Charges are pending against Klein, who was wearing a seat belt and was uninjured. The South Dakota Highway Patrol is investigating.
