Vehicle Smashes into National Weather Service Office, Killing 1

Workers inspect and make initial repairs on a National Weather Service office where a vehicle penetrated the building. Image: NWS

A freak accident happened at the National Weather Service office in Sioux Falls, South Dakota on Saturday: a vehicle smashed through the building, forcing its closure. The accident claimed the life of one person.

According to Sgt. Travis Olsen of the Sioux Falls Police Department, a Nissan SUV was driving westbound at about 2 am and failed to negotiate the T-intersection nearby, forcing the vehicle to vault onto Sioux Falls Regional Airport grounds and come to a rest inside the National Weather Service building. The police said speeding was a likely factor. There were 4 people in the vehicle at the time of the accident.

Crews work around the part of the National Weather Service building which was damaged when it was struck by a car this weekend. Image: NWS

Olsen said everyone in the vehicle sustained “very serious” injuries and went to a local hospital for treatment. Yesterday, the Sioux Falls Police Department announced one occupant, a 17 year old female, died.

The current status of the injured three are unknown. The investigation is still ongoing and it is unclear if drugs or alcohol were involved in the crash.

The crash impacted operations at the National Weather Service; fortunately, though, no one was hurt inside the building.

Meteorologist Todd Heitkamp said on the morning of November 24 there was only one employee in the building at the time of the crash. The employee, who called 911, was on the other side of the building and not injured, he said.

In a post to their Facebook page, the National Weather Service office wrote, “Once the incident occurred the on-duty forecaster contacted NWS Aberdeen to begin providing service back up, in other words assume our forecast responsibilities. As daylight appeared later that morning, it was quickly realized that we would not be able to allow our staff to occupy the building until the hole could be sealed and the structure of the building secured. Therefore, NWS Aberdeen continued to provide the forecast services for our office in a seamless way. By design every NWS office has multiple offices that can provide forecast services for the impacted office without missing a beat.”

While describing the impacts to operations, the National Weather Service office said they wouldn’t discuss the crash itself. “We are not going to comment on the cause of the damage in respect to those involved and their families. Our thoughts and prayers are with everyone and their families. Thankfully our staff member that was on duty at the time was not injured.”