SAFETY FIRST – BUT NOT AT HIGHWAYS 81 AND 18
Another fatal accident at Meridian Corner, this time on Monday afternoon, once again prompts the question: What’s it going to take to make that intersection safer?
At 2:15 p.m. on Monday, June 24, a 51-year-old man and an 12-year-old boy were killed at the intersection of Highways 81 and 18 when the driver of a Chevrolet pickup turned west into the path of a southbound Peterbilt semi and was obliterated.
It was the second fatal accident in 13 months at the dangerous intersection located eight miles south of Freeman and eight miles east of Menno that includes stop signs facing westbound and eastbound traffic on Highway 18, but no warning to northbound and southbound drivers flying by on Highway 81 at speeds of 65 miles per hour plus.
Monday’s tragic accident brings to mind previous calls for improved safety measures that have, apparently, fallen on deaf ears.
Last June, KELO-TV carried a story following a May 23, 2023 accident that claimed the life of 92-year-old Fred Henry Koens, who died after running a stop sign.
The story included comments from Abby Streyle, the manager of the popular restaurant Meridan Corner that stands adjacent to the intersection.
Streyle noted that Highway 81 and 44, located 11 miles to the north, features a four-way stop with flashing red lights, as does Highway 81 and 42 located 10 miles beyond that. The fact that Highway 81 and 18 does not is confusing for drivers, she said.
Then last July, The Courier published a letter to the editor pleading for improved safety measures at the intersection. Signed by Streyle, as well as Roland and Jean Svartoien, owners of Meridian Corner; and Frank Kloucek, a retired South Dakota Senator, the letter expressed both ongoing concerns about safety at the dangerous intersection and a plea for readers to contact the South Dakota Department of Transportation asking for action.
If a four-way stop is not an option, they suggested, could there at least be a reduction in speed in the half-mile leading up to the corner?
Meanwhile, a petition has been available at Meridian Corner asking for signatures to help spur change.
Here we are, a year later, nothing has been done, and family and friends of those killed on Monday are grieving another loss — two losses — that could have been prevented.
And the fallout has been swift, especially on the Facebook page operated by Tea Storm Chasers, a non-profit that follows storms and police scanners in the interest of public information.
Tea Storm Chasers broke the news of the accident Monday afternoon and then shared the official statement from the Department of Public Safety late Monday night confirming the fatalities and particulars of the accident. By Tuesday morning, there were nearly 400 comments in response to both posts, with nearly all of them calling for improved safety.
“This should have been turned into a four-way (stop) years ago,” wrote one person. “You can’t tell me two funerals are cheaper than a couple stop signs.”
If there’s more to this story, it’s baffling to think what it would be, especially since safety improvements were made last year on Highway 81 in areas that are far less dangerous than Meridian Corner, including a turning lane installed at the intersection just a mile south of Freeman and another at the correction curves five miles south of the 81/18 junction.
Yet here we are, once again absorbing the news of another fatal accident at a corner that is just begging for something — anything — to slow the traffic on Highway 81.
Do drivers need to pay closer attention? Of course. Unfortunately, many don’t, so why not err on the side of caution and mitigate the risk where danger is so high?
Maybe this time the need will get through to those who have the power to choose safety over death.
Jeremy Waltner | Editor & Publisher
