SIOUX FALLS — A Sioux Falls woman died over the weekend after her vehicle struck a large piece of machinery on the city’s north side.
Shortly after 5 p.m., police in Sioux Falls were called to the intersection of North Cliff Avenue and 52nd Street North for a report of a crash.
According to police spokesman Sam Clemens, 38-year-old Natasha Jones was driving a Nissan Sentra southbound on North Cliff Avenue when her vehicle left her lane and side-swiped another southbound vehicle.
Jones’ vehicle then swerved across the northbound lanes, struck mailboxes and drove into a parking lot, where it crashed into an unoccupied “large front-end loader.”
Clemens said Jones was partially ejected from the vehicle and was pronounced dead at the scene.
The adult driver of the vehicle that was side-swiped, as well as a juvenile passenger, were not injured.
In a Sunday news release, Sgt. Travis Olsen indicated that a medical event could have caused the crash. Clemens clarified on Monday that an autopsy has been ordered to determine whether a medical event occurred and to check for any impairment from drugs or alcohol.
A stretch of North Cliff Avenue was closed for a period of time while law enforcement investigated the crash, including the use of an aerial drone for mapping purposes.
A South Dakota native, Hunter joined Forum Communications as a reporter for the Mitchell (S.D.) Republic in June 2021 and now works as a digital reporter for Forum News Service.
