SIOUX FALLS, SD — A 19-year-old Brookings man died after a four-vehicle crash Thursday morning near Brookings, according to the South Dakota Department of Public Safety. Officials identified the victim as Daten Briar Odom.
The crash happened at 5:56 a.m. on Interstate 29 near mile marker 140. State crash information says a 2018 Subaru Forester was traveling southbound in the northbound lanes when it collided with Odom’s 2011 GMC Sierra.
The Subaru then came to a stop in the roadway, setting off a chain reaction involving two more northbound vehicles.
How The Crash Unfolded
After the first impact, the GMC Sierra rotated and struck a 2024 Ford F-350. A 2020 Chevrolet Trax then hit the stopped Subaru, adding two more vehicles to the wreck.
The crash details indicate all three other vehicles were traveling north in the northbound lanes when the collision began. The wrong-way Subaru was the only vehicle reported to have been going against traffic.
Officials have not released additional details about why the Subaru was in the wrong lanes or what led up to the crash. The sequence of impacts, however, shows how quickly the collision spread across the highway.
Victim And Driver Injuries
Odom died from his injuries, according to public safety officials. He was the driver of the GMC Sierra involved in the initial collision.
The Subaru driver, a 38-year-old woman from Toronto, South Dakota, was airlifted to a Sioux Falls hospital with life-threatening injuries. Authorities did not release her name.
The drivers and passengers in the other two vehicles were not hurt, officials said. No other injuries were reported in connection with the crash.
Location And Timing Details
The wreck happened in the early morning hours on a stretch of Interstate 29 near Brookings, a route heavily used by drivers in eastern South Dakota. Mile marker 140 places the crash scene north of Sioux Falls and close to the Brookings area.
Because the collision occurred before sunrise, investigators were dealing with a crash scene that began at 5:56 a.m. Thursday. Public safety officials have not said whether weather, visibility or impairment played any role.
The available information comes from the South Dakota Department of Public Safety crash report, which identified the vehicles, the route of travel and the injuries.
What Officials Have Said
So far, officials have focused on identifying the people involved and describing the order of the crashes. The department confirmed Odom’s death and the serious injuries suffered by the Subaru driver.
That leaves open questions about the conditions that put the Subaru into the northbound lanes. Investigators have not released any further findings or said whether charges are being considered.
For now, the incident stands as a fatal wrong-way crash that escalated into a four-vehicle collision on one of the state’s major interstates. Public safety officials have not announced any additional updates.
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