SUV driver flees crash scene, leaves 2 injured

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — Two people are hurt after an SUV crashed into an apartment building early Thursday morning. Police said it happened near West 3rd Street and North Elmwood Avenue around 4 a.m.

Police said the SUV was traveling south on a makeshift alley. Some neighbors we spoke with who wished not to be on camera questioned if it was even an actual road. The SUV hit a balcony post before crashing through the wall of the apartment.

Police said a 3-year-old boy was pinned against the wall after the vehicle crashed through the apartment building.

“The SUV went through the wall, hit the couch, and the child was pinned between the couch and the wall. They were able to get him out of there. He was taken to the hospital with life-threatening injuries,” Sam Clemens with the Sioux Falls Police Department said.

A 37-year-old man who was also in the apartment at the time was hurt but is expected to be okay.

“We had some witnesses that saw, I think there were three people, two women and a man, who left that vehicle and fled. So, we don’t know who the driver was at this point,” Clemens said.

Officers found open alcohol containers inside the vehicle and said the SUV had been reported stolen on October 5th.

Clemens said there is no indication at this time that this was an intentional act, but neighbors are still shaken up by the incident. Some of them told us they were woken up by the sound of sirens and crying. Others didn’t find out about the incident until later that morning but were still just as shocked.

“My biggest concern is that auto theft and stuff like this has been happening a lot more in Sioux Falls. I grew up in Denver and I know how bad Denver’s gotten,” Justin Gawell said. “I visited my dad just this past July when me and my fiancé got engaged and seeing it happen in Sioux Falls actually concerns me.”

Police said surveillance video and witness statements have played a key role so far in the investigation, but they’re still searching for answers.

No arrests have been made yet. The exact number of people involved in the hit-and-run is still being investigated by police.

If you have any information, you’re asked to call the non-emergency number or leave a tip with Crime Stoppers at 367-7007 or use the p-3 tips app.

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