The Stanton County Sheriff’s office responded to and investigated three separate injury accidents on Friday Night into Saturday morning. The first occurred just after 11:00 p.m. on Friday night about 6 1/2 miles south of Stanton on Hwy 57 when a southbound lost control due to icy road conditions and crossed the northbound lanes and came to a rest in the ditch. The lone 19 year old female from Leigh was transported to FRHS in Norfolk by Stanton Rescue. Seatbelts were in use at the time and road conditions were extremely slick.
The second accident was reported around 1:15 a.m. on Saturday morning on Hwy 275 near 569th Avenue about twelve miles east of Norfolk. It occurred when a westbound SUV lost control due to icy road conditions and entered the ditch and rolled once, The lone 55 year old female driver from Idaho was restrained and airbags did deploy. She was checked at the scene and declined medical transport. Her vehicle is considered a total loss.
The most serious accident was discovered by Stanton County Authorities after they cleared the above accident. Fresh tire tracks going through the median and mud were found on Hwy 275 near 561st avenue east of Norfolk. A wrecked semi and fully loaded trailer that was not very visible to the roadway was then located south of Hwy 275 well off the roadway. The lone driver Shaka Heritier-Rusanga, 33, of Syracuse, NY was found trapped in the wreckage in a tree line. He ultimately was extricated from the cab using the “Jaws of Life” by Norfolk Fire/Rescue and after several large trees were cut down and cleared using chainsaws. The extrication took nearly an hour due to the location of the semi and rough terrain. The injured driver was moved up the steep and icy embankment in a stokes basket using a rope and pulley system that was rigged on scene. A medical helicopter was requested to respond, but was unable to fly due to weather conditions at the time. The driver was transported to FRHS by ambulance with critical injuries. The semi cab is a total loss and it was unclear if seat belts were in use. The semi had been westbound at the time of the accident. Hwy 275 was very icy at the time and during this accident another westbound vehicle slid off the roadway into the median at the same location with no injuries to the driver. Stanton County Emergency Management assisted on all the scenes.” Black Ice was present on the highways and unseen by most drivers and failure to reduce vehicle speed contributed to all of these crashes”. SHERIFF MIKE UNGER
