Area Residents Among Victims in Accidents Over 4th of July Weekend

A Williston woman and a Watford City man are among the victims of catastrophic accidents on area roadways over the Fourth of July holiday weekend.

A Williston woman is facing serious life-threatening injuries after falling from a moving vehicle Friday evening. The North Dakota Highway Patrol reports 26-year-old Aprille Poitra was struck by the rear passenger side tire of a pickup truck driven by 24-year-old Logan McVey at the intersection of 58th Street West and 15th Avenue West in Williston. Poitra was in the passenger seat when she opened the passenger side door and fell from the moving vehicle. She was taken by ambulance to CHI St. Alexius Health-Williston and then airlifted to Trinity Health in Minot.

In Mountrail County, a Watford City man died following a head-on collision with a semi early Saturday morning. The North Dakota Highway Patrol says the minivan 18-year-old Eduardo Ochoa was driving crossed the center line just after the intersection of Highway 23 and the Highway 23 bypass east of New Town and struck a semi. The semi, driven by 51-year-old Alyssa Smith of Kenmare, hit the brakes and attempted to avoid the minivan. The minivan then struck the semi head-on in the westbound right turn lane. Ochoa was partially ejected and pronounced dead at the scene. Smith was not injured.

Also: An elderly man from Zap, North Dakota died late Saturday morning when the Off-Highway Vehicle (OHV) he was driving struck a boat trailer being pulled by a Dodge pickup on Mercer County Road 21, 10 miles north of Beulah. Eighty-eight year old Walter Morast was driving his 2021 Can-Am Defender northbound on the roadway when he slowed near the intersection of 1st Street NW.  A Dodge pickup pulling a boat attempted to pass the Can-Am. The Can-Am turned towards 1st Street NW and collided with the boat trailer of the Dodge pickup.  Morast was ejected and was later pronounced deceased at Sanford Hospital in Bismarck.