The South Dakota Department of Public Safety has released names of two people who died last Saturday evening in a two-vehicle crash east of Plankinton.
Preliminary crash information indicates a passenger car was traveling eastbound in the westbound lanes of Interstate 90 near mile marker 311 when it collided head-on with a westbound semi-tractor trailer combination.
17 year old Owen Robert Gjerdahl of Mitchell was the driver of the car. He was not wearing a seatbelt. 29 year old Jeffrey Duane McGhee Jr. of Mt. Vernon was a passenger in the car. He also was not wearing a seatbelt. Both Gjerdahl and McGhee were pronounced dead at the scene. 63 year old Francisco Parra-Navarro of Sioux Falls was the driver of the semi-truck. Parra-Navarro was wearing a seatbelt and was not injured.
The South Dakota Highway Patrol is investigating the crash. All information released so far is only preliminary.