August 25 – PUKWANA, SD – A 64-year-old man has been identified as the victim of a fatal crash on Interstate 90 in Brule County on August 21.
Leonard Alan Kocer, of Wagner, died in a two-vehicle collision on I-90, one mile south of Pukwana. The collision occurred at 11:40 a.m. Wednesday. Pukwana is about 60 miles west of Mitchell.
The South Dakota Department of Public Safety reported on Sunday, Aug. 25, that Kocer was driving a 1997 Ford F-150 westbound when the truck was struck from behind by a 2007 Ford Mustang also traveling westbound, driven by Stephanie Elder, 57, of Mitchell. Kocer lost control of the pickup, which went into the north ditch and overturned.
Kocer was not wearing a seat belt, was thrown from the plane and taken to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Elder’s vehicle also ended up in the northern ditch. Elder has been charged with reckless driving and failure to wear a seat belt in the crash. Reckless driving is a class 2 misdemeanor.
Elder is an employee of the State of South Dakota and works as a court reporter for the Unified Judicial System.
The South Dakota Highway Patrol is still investigating the accident.
