UPDATE: Names have been released in the fatal accident that happened at the north junction of US Highways 75 and 18 east of Rock Valley.
Authorities report that a Cadillac Escalade, driven by 17-year-old Dominic Olvera Flores from Rock Valley, was stopped facing east on Highway 18, pulled out from the stop sign, and was struck by a Peterbilt semi driven by 53-year-old Michael Bembenek of Rosholt, Wisconsin, which had been northbound on Highway 75.
They tell us 17-year-old Axel De Santos, also from Rock Valley, was in the passenger seat as the vehicle was struck by the semi. He was transported to the Sioux Center Hospital and was pronounced dead. The driver, Olvera Flores, was transported to Hegg Health Center Avera in Rock Valley and then airlifted via helicopter to Avera McKennan Hospital in Sioux Falls.
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Original story, posted Wednesday, September 10th:
Rock Valley, Iowa — One Rock Valley teen has died, and one was airlifted to a Sioux Falls hospital after an accident near Rock Valley on Tuesday, September 9, 2025.
The Iowa State Patrol reports that at about 2:35 p.m., a 17-year-old juvenile from Rock Valley was driving a 2007 Cadillac Escalade six miles east of Rock Valley, or a mile north of Perkins Corner. They tell us that 53-year-old Michael Bembenek of Rosholt, Wisconsin, was northbound on Highway 75 in a 2009 Peterbilt semi.
The report says that the juvenile was stopped on Highway 18. Bembenek was northbound on Highway 75. The juvenile then pulled out from the stop sign, and their vehicle was struck by the semi that Bembenek was driving.
One juvenile was transported to the Sioux Center Hospital, where they were pronounced dead. Another 17-year-old juvenile was transported to Hegg Health Center Hospital and was then flown to Avera McKennan Hospital in Sioux Falls. The preliminary report does not state which juvenile had been driving. Bembenek reported no injuries.
KIWA Staff Photo
