16-07-2025
Crash referenced by Mitchell city leaders causes life-threatening injuries to moped driver
Jul. 15—MITCHELL — Officials on Tuesday, July 15, released details into a two-vehicle crash that caused life-threatening injuries to an 18-year old male riding a moped in early July.
The crash occurred at approximately 12:57 p.m. on Wednesday, July 2, at the intersection of Sixth Avenue and Winsor Street in Mitchell. The driver of the moped was not wearing a helmet and sustained life-threatening injuries.
The crash was referenced at the July 7 Mitchell City Council meeting by council president Kevin McCardle, who suggested additional stops at Sixth and Fourth avenues to slow traffic down over the lunch hour. At that meeting, Mitchell Mayor Jordan Hanson stated that Mitchell Chief of Police Dean Knippling and Public Works Director Joe Schroeder would be pulling traffic data from those intersections to consider whether stop signs are necessary.
Preliminary crash information indicates the driver of a 2018 Jeep Compass was traveling southbound on Winsor Street. At the same time, the driver of a moped was traveling eastbound on Sixth Avenue. The Jeep failed to yield where the streets intersect and collided with the moped in the intersection, according to the South Dakota Highway Patrol's report.
The driver of the Jeep, a 64-year-old male from Mitchell, was uninjured and was wearing a seatbelt, according to authorities. The driver of the moped was also from Mitchell. The names of those involved in the crash have not been released at this time.
Changes are in the works for the traffic pattern near the school. A portion of Winsor Street east of the old Mitchell High School will be vacated south of 11th Avenue and a cul-de-sac put in, effectively blocking off the street.
The crash is still under investigation by the South Dakota Highway Patrol.
