Officer comes to help in violent accident | News

LARCHWOOD – An off-duty South Dakota police officer is credited with saving the lives of several injured people in a two-vehicle collision Thursday, Sept. 26, around 7 p.m. at the intersection of 140th Street and Beech Avenue, three miles west of Larchwood has .

Lance Harvey Haugen, 33, of Glendive, MT, was driving north on Beech Avenue when he failed to stop at the stop sign and his 2012 Ford Raptor pickup struck an eastbound 2021 Chevrolet Traverse driven by 74-year-old Marvin Dale Winkel of George, according to the Lyon County Sheriff's Office.

Haugen's pickup hit the passenger side of the Winkel vehicle, throwing the two vehicles into the northeast ditch.

The pickup rolled before coming to rest on the passenger side. The Winkel vehicle came to a stop on a field driveway and caught fire.

Ismael Small, an off-duty police officer from Lennox, SD, arrived on the scene seconds after the crash and pulled four occupants from the burning vehicle and another person from the overturned pickup truck.

There were six passengers in the two vehicles.

One was flown by Avera Careflight to Avera McKennan Hospital in Sioux Falls, SD, while the other five were transported by Larchwood Emergency Medical Services and Lyon County Ambulance to Avera McKennan Hospital and Sanford USD Medical Center in Sioux Falls.

The Lyon County Sheriff's Office found in its report that Small “did more than the call of duty.”

It continued: “Small remained on site with the injured and cared for them until emergency services arrived. Even after emergency responders arrived, Small remained on scene to assist with patient care. There is no doubt that Small’s heroic actions saved the lives of everyone involved in the accident.”

The accident is still under investigation.