ALCESTER, S.D. (AP) - The Latest on a vehicle slamming into pedestrians outside a rehabilitation center in South Dakota (all times local):
5 p.m.
Authorities in South Dakota say an 81-year-old woman who drove her car into a group of people standing outside a nursing home appears to have stepped on the gas instead of the brakes.
Two people died when the woman’s 2001 Pontiac hit a group of seven people coming out of the Alcester Care and Rehab Center. Six people were injured including the driver.
The state Highway Patrol says the group that was hit was a mix of center employees and residents. The driver was among those injured. The highway patrol cited witnesses who say it appeared the woman stepped on her accelerator by mistake.
The names of the eight haven’t yet been released. They were taken to three hospitals in the region. Some of the injured were later released from hospitals.
Alcester is a town of about 800 people about an hour south of Sioux Falls.
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3 p.m.
Authorities say accident reconstruction experts are now assisting with the investigation into a fatal crash outside a South Dakota nursing home.
The South Dakota Highway Patrol says two people were killed and six others were injured Monday when a vehicle slammed into a group of people outside the Alcester (AWL’-ses-tur) Care and Rehab Center.
Patrol Capt. Jason Husby said during a brief news conference that experts from Sioux Falls are helping in the investigation.
Husby says the investigation is just beginning, but that it appears the driver unintentionally struck the pedestrians. Husby called the incident “horrible,” saying: “A lot of people are affected by this.”
Husby and hospitals treating the victims declined to release information about their conditions. Husby says the driver is among the injured.
Alcester is a small town about 40 miles (64 kilometers) south of Sioux Falls.
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1:45 p.m.
Authorities now say six people were injured after a vehicle hit a group of people in a fatal crash outside a rehabilitation center in southeast South Dakota.
Highway Patrol spokesman Tony Mangan says the investigation is ongoing, but that the Monday morning crash in Alcester (AWL’-ses-tur) appears to have been an accident. He says the driver of the vehicle was among those taken to a hospital.
Mangan initially said eight people were taken to hospitals, but he later said the number was actually six. He didn’t immediately provide details about the conditions of the injured.
The crash occurred outside the Alcester Care and Rehab Center. Officials at the center referred questions about the crash on Monday to the Highway Patrol.
Alcester is a small town about 40 miles (64 kilometers) south of Sioux Falls.
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12:45 p.m.
Authorities say two people are dead and eight others are injured after a vehicle slammed into a group of people outside a rehabilitation center in southeast South Dakota.
State Highway Patrol spokesman Tony Mangan says the accident occurred Monday morning outside the Alcester (AWL’-ses-tur) Care and Rehab Center. Alcester is a city of about 750 people south of Sioux Falls.
Mangan says the investigation is ongoing, but that the crash appears to have been accident. Mangan says the driver of the vehicle was among those brought to a hospital.
Mangan says he doesn’t know the driver’s identity and couldn’t provide details about what preceded the crash. Mangan says the Highway Patrol is leading the investigation into the collision.
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