FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Thursday, Sept. 26, 2013

CONTACT:  Captain Kevin Joffer, Lt. Alan Welsh or Lt. Paul Gerken, SD Highway

                     Patrol 605-367-5700

              Names Released in Davison County Fatal Crash

What: Two-vehicle fatal crash

Where: SD Highway 37, mile marker 67, four miles south of Mitchell, SD

When: Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2013, 4:22 p.m.

Driver 1: Sara Ann Claggett, 23, Tripp, SD, fatal

Passenger 1: Lauryn Rene Claggett, 2, Tripp, SD, life-threatening injuries

Vehicle 1: 2006 Saturn Relay

Driver 2: Donald Julius Geidel, 82, Dimock, SD, fatal

Vehicle 2: 2004 GMC Sierra pickup

MITCHELL, S.D. – Two people died and a third was seriously injured in a two-vehicle crash on S.D Highway 37 about four miles south of Mitchell on Wednesday, Sept. 25.

Sara Ann Claggett, 23, of Tripp, S.D. was southbound driving a 2006 Saturn Relay. The vehicle drifted into the northbound lane and collided with a northbound 2004 GMC Sierra pickup driven by Donald Julius Geidel, 82, of Dimock, S.D. Both vehicles caught fire. Both drivers died in the crash. Neither was wearing a seatbelt.

Claggett’s 2-year-old daughter was in a child safety seat in the backseat of the Saturn. Witnesses were able to pull the child from the vehicle. She was taken to a Mitchell hospital and then transported to a Sioux Falls hospital.

No further information is immediately available.

The South Dakota Highway Patrol is investigating. Davison County Sheriff’s Office, Mitchell Fire Department and Ethan Fire Department assisted.

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