Hawarden, Iowa– At least three people were taken to hospitals after an accident just into South Dakota near Hawarden just after midnight, early on Sunday.
The South Dakota Highway Patrol reports that about 12:30 a.m. on Sunday, December 23, 2018, 48-year-old Michael Hemmelrick of Hawarden was driving a 1999 Chevy Suburban westbound on 297th Street, four and a half miles north of Hawarden. They say a 35-year-old man was eastbound on 297th in a 2003 Ford pickup. Due to “Marsy’s Law,” troopers could not release the name of the other driver or any passengers.
The report says that Hemmelrick tried to curve south onto 486th but crossed into the path of the pickup and the vehicles struck head-on.
The Hawarden Ambulance took Hemmelrick to Hawarden Regional Hospital and a 41-year-old female passenger to a Sioux Falls hospital. The report says the driver of the pickup was also taken to Hawarden Regional Hospital. No information could be released about whether the two passengers in that vehicle were taken to hospitals or not. The passengers included a 32-year-old female and a 5-year-old male, who both received what were called “minor injuries.”
Charges are pending against Hemmelrick. The South Dakota Highway Patrol investigation into the accident continues.
