Sioux Falls woman identified as victim in fatal I-29 crash near Tea

TEA, S.D. — A Sioux Falls woman has been identified as the person killed in a fatal crash on Interstate 29 last week.

Shortly after 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, Jan. 25, the Lincoln County Sheriff's Office and South Dakota Highway Patrol responded to a single-vehicle rollover crash at mile marker 71 of Interstate 29, near the Harrisburg and Tea exits.

Michelle Nimick, the 49-year-old driver from Sioux Falls, was identified as the victim who died in the crash. She was not wearing a seat belt and was thrown from the vehicle.

The passenger, 52-year-old Irvin Loeffler Jr., suffered serious, non-life-threatening injuries, and was taken by ambulance to a Sioux Falls hospital. He was not wearing a seat belt.

Preliminary crash information released by the South Dakota Highway Patrol indicates that Nimick's vehicle — a 2005 Dodge Ram 1500 pickup — was traveling northbound on Interstate 29 when Nimick lost control while merging into the left lane of traffic. The vehicle entered the median and rolled.

In a Facebook post following the crash, the Lincoln County Sheriff's Office cautioned other drivers of icy conditions along roads to the south of Sioux Falls. The South Dakota Highway Patrol said road conditions are thought to have been a factor in the crash.

The South Dakota Highway Patrol continues to investigate the crash.