SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — It’s been a deadly few days on the Sioux Falls streets. Crashes have killed four people and sent at least two others to the hospital.
It all started Friday afternoon when a 63-year-old man died after he crossed the center line on East 26th Street, crashing into a pole and a tree. An exact cause for the crash is still under investigation.
On Saturday night, a motorcycle crashed into a car on East 57th Street. According to witnesses, the 21-year-old man on the bike was going up to 70-miles an hour in a 40-mile an hour zone. The biker was wearing a helmet, but died at the scene.
“This is a good example of why it’s unfortunate that the motorcyclist lost his life, but it was something that he could have prevented just by going slower,” Sam Clemens with the Sioux Falls Police Department said.
Then, just hours later, a man and woman were hit and killed on North Cliff Avenue.
21-year-old Dominic Aning is the suspect in the crash. He’s charged with two counts of vehicular homicide, his second DWI and looking at his phone while driving.
51-year-old Michael James and 29-year-old Shereena Jones got out of their cars to fix a tow rope near the intersection of North Cliff Avenue and East 34th Street. That’s when police said they were hit by Aning who was looking at his phone.
“I don’t think he knew that people were involved in that because he wasn’t looking at the road. Obviously, drinking is not a good thing to be drinking and driving. But this also shows the importance of paying attention to the roadway,” Sam Clemens said.
Hours after the crash that killed James and Jones, friends and family members gathered to remember James.
“It’s not a call that you ever want to get. It’s just something that happened. We didn’t expect it. We’re all grieving right now. We are still in shock that it happened,” James’ cousin Laura Gillis said.
Gillis said James was “remarkable” and “did everything for anybody.”
The crashes leave police and families sending an urgent message to all drivers.
“They need to slow down. Slow down. Watch where they’re going… Pay attention,” Gillis said.
