Names Released in Yankton County Fatal Crash

What:    Car/Pedestrian fatal crash
Where:  SD Highway 46, mile marker 339, seven miles west of Irene, SD 
When:   8:23 p.m., Thursday, September 11, 2025

Driver 1: Erica Beth Heim, 37-year-old female from Sioux Falls, SD, no injuries
Vehicle 1: 2022 Tesla
Seat belt Used: Yes 
Passenger 1a: 17-year-old female from Minnehaha, SD, no injuries
Seat belt Used: Yes
Passenger 1b: 17-year-old female from Sioux Falls, SD, no injuries
Seat belt Used: Yes 

Pedestrian: Timothy Cal Nelson, 67-year-old male from Yankton, SD, fatal injuries

Yankton County, S.D.- A pedestrian died in a single vehicle crash September 11, seven miles west or Irene, SD.

Preliminary crash information indicates Erica Beth Heim, the driver of a 2022 Tesla, was traveling eastbound on SD Highway 46 near mile marker 339 and struck a pedestrian walking in the roadway. Timothy Cal Nelson was transported to a nearby hospital with life-threatening injuries where he later died from those 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.