TEA, S.D. (KELO.com) — A teenage girl, 15, is in critical condition after a hit-and-run that closed part of Interstate 29 for hours at the Tea/Harrisburg exit.
Lincoln County Sheriff Steve Swenson says the girl’s car had broken down for some reason.
“Her vehicle was parked on the shoulder of the road. We don’t know whether it ran out of gas, or there were mechanical problems, or why she stopped, ” Swenson tells KELO Radio News that she was found injured on the shoulder not that far from the car.
Swenson says the northbound lanes of the interstate were closed at the exit from about 5:30 Monday morning to 1 in the afternoon, as investigators fine-combed the area.
“Any evidence that would lead us in the direction of finding the vehicle that struck her, vehicle parts, that kind of stuff.”
Swenson says part of the investigation is what kind of drivers license the 15-year-old has, and whether she was driving the vehicle legally. But right now, they just want to find the hit-and-run driver. He’s asking members of the public that if they see a vehicle suspiciously damaged, especially around the front fender area, to get in touch with the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office.
