Icy roads blamed for series of accidents along I-90

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SPENCER — Icy roads are being blamed for a series of accidents early Saturday on Interstate 90 near the McCook-Hanson county line.

The first and most serious, at 4:46 a.m., was between mile markers 351 and 352 near the Spencer exit, in which a vehicle with five male occupants rolled and ejected two passengers who were not wearing seat belts.

Other less serious accidents were reported at 7:17 a.m., 8:48 a.m. and 8:51 a.m.

Highway Patrol Trooper Matthew Petersen, who was in charge at the first accident scene, said the ejected passengers were flown to Avera McKennan Hospital in Sioux Falls for treatment.

Petersen, said Ser Eh, 22, Aberdeen, the driver of the 2004 GMC Envoy, and his passenger, Ba Moo, 23, Huron, both remain hospitalized in critical condition.

Passengers Moses Da, 25, Joseph Da, 23, and Lay Da, 19, all of Aberdeen, were wearing seat belts. They received cuts and bruises but refused treatment.

The GMC Envoy was headed east on I-90 when it lost control on icy conditions, reportedly caused by heavy frost.

The vehicle went into the median where it rolled, ejected the driver and his passenger, and came to rest in the westbound passing lane of I-90.

Another rollover that occurred in the same area at 7:17 a.m. in the same vicinity was less serious.

The passengers — a family of four and their dog — is believed to have been treated for minor injuries and later released, Petersen said, but the trooper handling that incident was not immediately available to confirm that report.

Hanson County Sheriff Randy Bartlett was out of his patrol vehicle and was directing traffic off the interstate at the Spencer exit, when one driver failed to heed warnings to slow down and slid into Bartlett’s cruiser.

The sheriff was not injured and his vehicle, while dented, was still operable.

Petersen said road conditions where the accident occurred are consistently treacherous in poor weather.

Reducing speed is the remedy for driving in icy conditions, he said.

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