photo courtesy of Lynne Bormann
(Le Mars) — Hundreds of people attending the Gehlen Catholic Homecoming football
game Friday evening witnessed a horrific traffic accident that produced an
explosion and fire ball and sent two people to the hospital. The incident
happened at about 8:00 p.m. while people were watching the Gehlen marching band
perform during halftime. Just beyond the football field on 12th Street SW, a
motorcycle collided head-on with a pick-up truck. The motorcycle slid beneath the
pick-up truck which caused a fire to start. Officials believe it was the gasoline tank from the motorcycle that exploded. Le Mars Fire Chief
Dave Schipper was attending the football game and was one of hundreds to witness
the fiery collision.
The game was suspended for nearly a half an hour while emergency crews worked at
the scene. Fans on the visiting sideline were asked to leave the area and go
across the field.
Schipper says he asked that the two teams not resume the game until after such
time, officials determined the scene to be safe.
photo contributed.
Fire fighters used a fire retardant foam in order to smother the fire which was
burning the pick-up truck. The accident still remains under investigation by the
Le Mars Police Department. According to the traffic accident report issued by the
Le Mars Police Department, the driver of the motorcycle, 21 year old Dillon
McKinney of Le Mars was initially transported to Floyd Valley Healthcare, then
airlifted to a Sioux City hospital. McKinney’s injuries are severe, but are not
thought to be life-threatening. McKinney’s passenger on the motorcycle was 23
year old Samantha Prieksat of Le Mars. She was treated and released from the
hospital. Surprisingly, the driver of the pick-up truck, 19 year old Joseph
Schleis and his male passenger were able to escape the burning vehicle and did not
sustain any injuries, although their vehicle had caught on fire and was totally
destroyed. Many photos and videos of the accident have appeared on numerous social media outlets.
