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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Tuesday, Feb. 22, 2022
CONTACT: Tony Mangan, Public Information Officer, 605-280-5648
Names Released In Turner County Fatal Crash
What: Two-Vehicle Crash
Where: Intersection of 269th Street and 446th Avenue
Three miles west of Monroe, S.D.
When: 10:43 a.m., Thursday, Feb. 17, 2022
Driver No. 1: Matthew Benson, 26, Montrose, S.D., Fatal Injuries
Vehicle: 2015 Freightliner Bucket Truck
Driver No. 2: Katherine Ruzhitsky, 27, Sioux Falls, S.D., Serious Non-Threatening Injuries
Vehicle: 2012 Ford Fusion
MONROE, S.D. – A 26-year-old Montrose, S.D. man has been identified as the person who died Thursday morning in a two-vehicle crash west of Monroe.
Preliminary crash information indicates that a 2015 Freightliner Bucket Truck was westbound on 269th Street when it failed to stop for a posted stop sign at the intersection with 446th Avenue. The truck collided with a 2012 Ford Fusion that was northbound on 446th Avenue.
Matthew Benson, the truck driver, was not wearing a seat belt and was partially thrown from the vehicle. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Katherine Ruzhitsky, 27, of Sioux Falls, was the driver of the Ford. She was wearing a seat belt and suffered serious non-life threatening injuries. She was transported to a Sioux Falls hospital.
South Dakota’s Highway Patrol is investigating the crash. All information released so far is only preliminary.
The Highway Patrol is part of the South Dakota Department of Public Safety.
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Note: Records of state-reportable crashes are now available at http://www.safesd.gov/ Records should be available about 10 days after the investigation is complete.