I-90 conditions improve, but travel slow going

Exit 40-48: Seven crashes in less than two hours includes deputies' cars

By Journal staff | Saturday, November 15, 2008

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In less than two hours, blinding snow caused seven accidents Friday morning that injured three people on an eight-mile stretch of Interstate 90 near Sturgis.

Conditions were so extreme that passing motorists struck two stopped Meade County sheriff's vehicles as officers were helping other drivers. Those crashes did not result in injuries.

Gusts to 60 mph drove wet snow and caused highway icing at mile post 44. In the whiteout, a westbound Jeep Cherokee driven by Tessa Thomas, 20, Rapid City, slid into the median and crossed into the eastbound lanes. The Jeep struck a Honda Civic driven by Jacob Schrempf, 25, of Sturgis; the drivers were taken to Rapid City Regional Hospital, where they were treated and released.

A second injury-causing crash took place in the same area. A 1997 Lincoln Mark 8 driven by 15-year-old Jesse Britton entered the ditch and rolled. He also was treated at and then released from Regional Hospital.

The Highway Patrol responded to five other weather-related crashes on I-90, assisted by the Meade County Sheriff's Office, state Game, Fish & Parks Department and state Department of Transportation.

The slippery conditions and visibility problems caused officials to close I-90 between the Wyoming border and Exit 60 in Rapid City for a time. Traffic also was diverted at Exits 40 and 48 as crews worked on the multiple accidents.

Before midday, travel also was temporarily banned on S.D. Highway 34 from Sturgis east to mile marker 81, on U.S. Highway 14A through the Northern Hills and U.S. Highway 85 from Wyoming to I-90.

Wet, slippery conditions exist throughout the region, and officials advised drivers to take particular care on: S.D. Highway 79 from Sturgis north to S.D. Highway 20; Highway 85 from I-90 north to the North Dakota line; U.S. Highway 212 from Belle Fourche through Newell northeast into northwest Meade County; I-90 east from Rapid City to Wall; S.D. Highway 44 from Rapid City east to mile marker 78 in central Pennington County; and Highway 79 south from Rapid City into Custer County.

For detailed information, go to safetravelusa.com/sd.