Alexandria, SD : Four killed in Hanson County crash on Thursday, August 18, 2016
A Salem man is among the four people killed in a fiery car crash Thursday on Interstate 90.
David Wise, 75, died Thursday after a fiery, two-vehicle collision around 4:30 p.m. at mile marker 347 on I-90, about 3 miles east of Alexandria. Authorities identified Wise as the driver of the 1995 Chevy that was traveling eastbound in the westbound lanes. The pickup collided with another vehicle, which had four people in it. Both vehicles were engulfed in flames, according to the South Dakota Department of Public Safety. The smoke from the crash could be seen from Mitchell, and westbound traffic on Interstate 90 was re-routed at mile marker 350 onto Highway 38.
The release does not elaborate on why Wise was driving in the wrong direction on the interstate and Tony Mangan, spokesman for the department of public safety, said the South Dakota Highway Patrol is investigating.
The other vehicle’s make and model are listed as “unknown” by the department, but the driver was identified as Ryan Hrubes, a 28-year-old from Omaha, Neb. Mangan would not specify why the vehicle model could not be determined, but The Associated Press reported investigators couldn't identify the make or model of the westbound vehicle due to the severity of the wreckage. Mangan said, “The release says both vehicles were engulfed in flames.”
Hrubes and two passengers, Theresa Schenzel, 59, and Tyler Schenzel, 54, both of Omaha, died. A third passenger, Emily Hrubes, 26, also of Omaha, suffered serious but non-life-threatening injuries
Mangan said some victims died at the scene and others died later.
Two of the people killed were a prominent couple from Omaha -- Ty Schenzel, a pastor and the founder of the Hope Center for Kids in Omaha, and his wife, Terri.
“We are saddened beyond belief by this news and our prayers are with their families and the families of the other couple involved Ryan and Emily Hrubes, as well as the driver of the other vehicle,” The Hope Center said in a statement Friday.
The Hope Center for Kids, a non-profit organization devoted to inspiring hope in youth and children through education, employability, collaboration and faith, said its locations in Omaha and Fremont remained open for youth and children members on Friday.
Tyler Schenzel served as an associate pastor and youth pastor at Omaha's Waypoint Church and founded the Hope Center for Kids with his wife, Theresa.
"Their mission is helping people find hope in their lives when hope was lost," said Silas West, Waypoint's executive pastor. "That's how they lived. That's the message on their hearts."
Silas said that Ty Schenzel left the Hope Center he founded in May. He had been on staff at Waypoint for about two years but was integral in helping the church's launch in 2007 in the role of an overseer. West said Schenzel's titles of associate pastor and youth pastor fail to convey how much he was valued at Waypoint and throughout the city.
"He was so much more than that here in Omaha and to our church," West said.
An evening gathering was being planned at Waypoint Church to provide prayers and comfort to friends of the families.
The Schenzels and another couple had set out on a road trip to see Mount Rushmore, when the vehicle driven by Wise struck their vehicle head on.
Debris from the crash struck a westbound 2014 Toyota SUV. The two occupants of the SUV were not injured.
The South Dakota Highway Patrol is investigating the crash. Other agencies at the scene were the Hanson County Sheriff’s Office, Davison County Sheriff’s Office, Hanson County Emergency Management, Alexandria Fire Department, Emery Fire Department and Mitchell Police Division.
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UPDATE: Four killed in Hanson County crash identified