The South Dakota Highway Patrol has released the names from two fatal single-vehicle accidents less than 6 hours apart last Thursday in the Black Hills, one near Edgemont and the other near Keystone.
55-year old Michael Gembala of Edgemont and 64-year old Joseph Nielson of Willmar, MN, were southbound on Hwy 471 in a pickup about just before 8:00 am when they ran off the roadway about 3 miles south of Edgemont.
Gembala, the driver, got the pickup back into the southbound lane, but in the process over-corrected and the pickup went off the pavement again, then down an embankment while rolling several times.
Neither Gembala or Nielson was wearing a seatbelt and both sustained fatal injuries.
    The second accident occurred about 1:45 when 87-year-old Henry Douglass of Reidsville, NC, ran off Hwy 244 and into a ditch about 3 miles west of Keystone.
Douglass’ eastbound SUV hit an embankment in the ditch and rolled, coming to rest on its top. Douglas was alone and died at the scene.