A Plankinton man suffered serious, but non-life threatening injuries in an early Thursday morning crash northeast of Plankinton, and spent almost five hours trapped in his pickup.
Clinton Olinger, 44, of Plankinton and formerly of Woonsocket, was traveling north on 389th Ave. near 242nd St., 11 miles northeast of Plankinton, when his pickup left the road and entered the east ditch, crashed through a fence and into a harvested bean field. The 2003 F250 then crossed 242nd St. and hit the bank of the north ditch.
The crash happened around 5 a.m., but the Aurora County Sheriff’s office didn’t get a report of the vehicle until a passerby called it in around 9:45 a.m.
Olinger was conscious when officers arrived at the scene but was “pinned down in the floorboards,” and unable to reach his phone to call for help. He was not wearing a seatbelt. He was transferred to Avera Queen of Peace Hospital in Mitchell and then on to Sioux Falls.
The SD Highway Patrol, Aurora County Sheriff’s Office, Mitchell Ambulance and the Plankinton Fire Department responded to the accident. There are no charges pending.