Names Released in Haakon County Fatal Crash

What:    Two vehicle fatal crash
Where:  SD Highway 34, mile marker 128, 34 miles northwest of Philip, SD
When:   12:46 a.m., Wednesday, September 18, 2024

Vehicle 1: 2001 Freightliner TR
Driver 1: Jose Antonio Perez Martinez, 59-year-old male from Humble, TX, serious, non-life-threatening injuries
Seatbelt Use: No
Passenger 1: Nolberto Garcia Hernandez, 51-year-old male from Odessa, TX, no injuries
Seatbelt Use: No

Vehicle 2: 1996 Freightliner TR
Driver 2: Gianny Estevez Garcia, 25-year-old male from Fort Myers, FL, fatal injuries
Seatbelt Use: Yes

Haakon County, S.D.- A Florida man died early Wednesday morning when his semi collided with another semi in a two-vehicle crash 34 miles northwest of Philip, SD.

Preliminary crash information indicates Jose Antonio Perez Martinez, the driver of a 2001 Freightliner, was parked in the lane of travel with its emergency flashers on near mile marker 128 on SD Highway 34 in Haakon County, SD. Gianny Estevez Garcia, the driver of a 1996 Freightliner heading the same direction, struck the back of the parked semi. Martinez was moving about the cab during the collision and suffered serious, non-life-threatening injuries. A passenger, Nolberto Garcia Hernandez, was outside of the vehicle at the time and uninjured. Gianny Garcia sustained fatal injuries.

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.

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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.