Vermillion,SD : Clay County Man Identified As Wednesday Accident Victim on May,Friday 25th 2018

The 77-year-old man who died in car-pedestrian accident has been identified as Sterling Peterson, a resident of Clay County, according to Matt Betzen, the chief of the Vermillion Police Department.

According to a new release issued by Betzen on Wednesday, May 23, a pedestrian was killed in Vermillion after being struck by a motor vehicle at approximately 9:20 a.m. that morning. The accident occurred in the parking lot of Hy-Vee Food Store at 525 W. Cherry Street.

Betzen didn’t release further information about the case when contacted by the Vermillion Plain Talk Friday. The accident is being investigated by members of the city police department.

“It will be some time before we make a final decision about charges in a case like this,” the chief said. “As a matter of course, we collect a bunch of information and consult experts and it takes several weeks, if not longer, before we make a final determination.

“Initial information is that it appears to be an accident,” Betzen said. “Beyond that, it will depend on various things like chemical tests of stuff that’s collected from anyone who gets into a fatal accident, such as blood and urine. It will be some time before we get those results back. We don’t make final decisions until we get all of that information back, and that’s kind of where we’re at.”

So far, the accident is being investigated solely by the Vermillion Police Department. The chief said a decision on whether to seek help from other agencies in the state has yet to be made.

“The (South Dakota) Highway Patrol might help. It’s really up to the investigating officer. We have an accident reconstructionist, which is a person with a higher level of training for accidents, on our staff – that’s Sergeant Ben Nelsen, and he’s taken a lead on the case,” Betzen said. “If he needs to consult with the Highway Patrol or wants to use them for recreating the scene, there’s additional equipment we might use. It will up to Sergeant Nelsen whether he decides to do that or not.”


Source :
Clay County Man Identified As Wednesday Accident Victim