FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:  Tuesday, May 26, 2015
Contact:  Captain Kevin Karley, Lt. Jason Ketterling, Lt. Ted Garstenshlager,
South Dakota Highway Patrol, 605-394-2286 or
Tony Mangan, Department of Public Safety, 605-280-5648

Victim Identified in Pennington County Fatal Crash  

What: One vehicle crash
Where:  South Dakota Highway 240, 10 miles south of Wall
When:  4:53 p.m., Saturday, May 23, 2015

 
Driver:  Richard Vasquez, 51, Sallisaw, Oklahoma, Fatal
Vehicle: 1999 Ford F250

 
Wall, S.D. – Authorities have now identified a Sallisaw, Oklahoma man who died Saturday in a one-vehicle crash that occurred 10 miles south of Wall.

The South Dakota Highway Patrol says Richard Vasquez was the lone victim in the crash that occurred at 4:53 p.m. Saturday on South Dakota Highway 240. The accident happened in the Badlands National Park.

Vasquez, 51, was driving a 1999 Ford F250 pickup north on South Dakota Highway 240. The vehicle left the roadway, went over a curb and down a steep embankment. The vehicle rolled twice. Vasquez, who was not wearing a seatbelt, was ejected from the vehicle. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

The Highway Patrol says alcohol was a factor in the crash. The investigation continues.

Other agencies responding to the scene were Pennington County Sheriff's Office, National Park Service, Wall Fire and Rescue, Wall Emergency Management Service  and Pennington County Search and Rescue. 

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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.