When South Dakota state trooper Lyndsey Dubbelde, 23, pulled over a car in the early morning of Jan. 1, she thought it would just be a routine traffic stop in Sioux Falls. Instead, Dubbelde was struck by another vehicle being driven by USD student William Squyer, 19, on her way back to her vehicle.
Highway patrol First Sgt. Kevin Schurch said Dubbelde had stopped a car on Interstate 229 between Western Avenue and Minnesota Avenue in Sioux Falls, she noticed the vehicle coming at her while walking back to her patrol car.
‘She attempted to jump out of the way, but was struck by a 1999 Dodge Caravan,’ Schurch said.
The Caravan, driven by Squyer, of Sioux Falls, continued northbound without stopping after striking Dubbelde, Schurch said. He said Squyer was intoxicated when the incident occurred.
After being hit and watching the Caravan continue on, Dubbelde got back into her patrol car, chased down and stopped the vehicle, Schurch said.
Squyer was then charged with DUI, felony hit-and-run, failure to yield to an emergency vehicle and underage consumption. Dubbelde suffered non-life threatening injuries.
Both Squyer and Dubbelde declined to comment for the article.
Schurch said this incident was a prime example of how dangerous drinking and driving is.
‘It just goes to show that impaired drivers are dangerous. They’re not only dangerous to everyone on the road but anyone alongside the road,’ Schurch said.
Despite South Dakota’s ‘Move Over’ law, which protects motorists and emergency vehicles on the side of the road, Schurch said close calls and accidents happen more than they should.
‘For a trooper actually getting struck, it doesn’t happen that often,’ Schurch said. ‘Close calls happen probably more than we want to know.’
Schurch said especially in winter weather, troopers have many close calls where they need to jump out of the way or take cover from sliding
cars.
Schurch said troopers are trained to be aware of their surroundings when performing traffic stops by watching oncoming traffic when they’re walking back to their car and this may be what saved Dubbelde’s life.
‘I guess had she not been doing that, the outcome could have been much worse,’ Schurch said.
Schurch said when Dubbelde got back into the car to pursue the Caravan, she was only doing what she was trained to do and he said he would have done the same thing. Schurch said troopers will know that there was a violation and will want to stop the offender, even if struck.
‘Obviously their safety is the first and foremost concern; if they’re injured, then they need to get medical attention,’ Schurch said.
‘The trooper is back to work and she is a very lucky young lady,’ Schurch said.
Reach reporter Chris Jessen at Chris.Jessem@usd.edu.
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