Vehicle-motorcycle crash causes fire along Burr Street, leaving motorcycle driver injured

Sam Fosness, The Daily Republic, Mitchell, S.D.
·2 min read

May 22—MITCHELL — A motorcycle driver was seriously injured on Wednesday afternoon after striking a truck that failed to yield before exiting a car lot, which caused the crash.

The crash caused the motorcycle to catch fire before first responders arrived at the scene along Burr Street next to Iverson Auto. The motorcycle driver, Dennis Nicholas, survived the crash and fire.

Kyle McLaughlin, a sergeant with the Mitchell Police Division, led the investigation into the crash and said the male driver of the Dodge Ram truck was cited for failure to yield after exiting a private lot. The motorcycle driver was transported to the hospital.

"When the gentleman in the pickup went to pull out of Iverson's car lot, the motorcycle was coming down and the pickup driver didn't see him. The motorcycle then hit the front end of the truck," McLaughlin said.

First responders extinguished the fully engulfed motorcycle that caught fire. A portion of Burr Street was closed following the crash.

The mother of the motorcycle driver, Sheila Nicholas-Slater, was trailing her son in her vehicle when the crash occurred. She said a vehicle nearly struck her son at the first exit into Iverson Auto before the second vehicle crashed into her son at the second exit along Burr Street.

"As we were driving down Burr Street, one car almost struck him when they were coming out of the car lot but he swerved into the left lane and avoided getting hit. He went back to the right lane and got hit by this gentleman at the very next driveway into the car lot," Nicholas said. "The bike just exploded."

Nicholas-Slater witnessed her son tumble in the air and land on the street after being struck by the Dodge Ram truck. She emphasized her son was wearing a helmet, which she credited for helping him survive the crash.

"He got knocked up in the air and did two saltos (flips) and landed on the right side. I had to go into the left lane and was honking to avoid oncoming traffic so they wouldn't drive over him while laying on the ground," she said.

McLaughlin also noted the motorcycle driver was wearing a helmet.