A Mitchell man who was injured in a crash last month in Hanson County has been charged with driving without a license.
Justin Iburg, 24, was injured in a crash at about 2:30 a.m. Nov. 22, when his vehicle drifted off 416th Avenue, a paved road west of Alexandria in Hanson County, and struck a metal guard rail.
Iburg fell about 25 to 30 feet to a riverbank below the road after the driver's side door of his vehicle was torn off in the crash, Hanson County Sheriff Randy Bartlett told The Daily Republic last month. Iburg somehow managed to climb back to his vehicle and contact authorities.
Iburg suffered several fractures from the crash. He told authorities he could not remember how the crash happened or how he was able to get back to his vehicle after the fall.
After the crash, Bartlett sent Iburg's blood in for a blood alcohol concentration test, which is routine in injury crash investigations. Bartlett later told The Daily Republic that Iburg's blood alcohol concentration test came back negative, meaning he had no alcohol in his system during the time of the crash.
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Hanson County State's Attorney Jim Davies told The Daily Republic on Monday that Iburg did not have a driver's license because of his sentence for his involvement in another crash in 2011, in which 44-year-old Jon Christensen was killed. Christensen was stopped on a motorcycle near a construction site on state Highway 38 when Iburg crashed into him from behind. Iburg later admitted he was reading a text message when the crash occurred.
Iburg was found guilty of reckless driving but was acquitted of second-degree manslaughter in a jury trial following that crash, which also happened in Hanson County.
Driving without a license is a misdemeanor with a maximum penalty of 30 days in jail and a $500 fine. If Iburg is convicted, though, he could face more serious consequences if prosecutors also pursue the charge as a violation of his probation, Davies said.
