Names Released in Spink County Fatal Crash

What:    Single vehicle fatal crash
Where:  SD Hwy 20, Mile Marker 327, 5 miles East of Mellette, SD
When:   8:59 p.m., Thursday, November 23, 2023

Driver 1: Wendell Leigh Vankley, 68, Glenham, SD, Fatal injuries
Passenger 1: Logan Vankley, 34, Glenham, SD, Serious, non-life threatening injuries
Vehicle 1: 2011 Chevrolet Suburban
 

Spink County, S.D.- A 68 year old man has been identified as the person who died Friday morning resulting from injuries sustained in a one vehicle crash which occurred Thursday evening in Spink County.

Preliminary crash information indicates a 2011 Chevrolet Suburban was traveling westbound on SD 20 around 9 p.m. Thursday, November 23, when it entered the south ditch and struck an approach in the ditch. The driver, Wendell Leigh Vankley of Glenham, SD, was flown to a hospital in Sioux Falls for medical treatment but passed away on Friday morning. The passenger,  Logan Vankley, 34, also from Glenham, sustained serious, non-life threatening injuries.

The driver and passenger were not wearing seatbelts.

The South Dakota Highway Patrol is investigating the crash. All information released so far is only preliminary.

The Highway Patrol is an agency of the South Dakota Department of Public Safety.

                                                        ###

 Note: Records of state-reportable crashes are now available at http://www.safesd.gov/  Records should be available about 10 days after the investigation is complete.