Teen drivers and risky behavior in South Dakota

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — The teens involved in the Saturday morning fatal crash in Sioux Falls are among the age group for some of the most distracted and speeding drivers in the U.S.

Two teens, Eric Hopkins and Milana Reeves, both 15, died in the crash and five other teens, 13, 14, 15, and two 17-year-olds were injured in the crash. Police said today an eighth teen, a 15-year-old boy, was also involved in the crash. He has been identified and found by police. SFPD Public Information Officer Sam Clemens said the boy may have minor injuries.

Clemens said the detective investigating the crash has not yet determined who the driver is.

Police have not released the speed of the sport utility vehicle (SUV) that crashed into a tree and house near East 18th Street and 2nd Avenue at around 6 a.m. Saturday.

South Dakota ranks as one of the worst states for teen drivers in terms of crashes, both fatal and injury. The Zebra said the state has 36.8 fatalities per 100,000 teens which ranks second of all states, behind Wyoming. WalletHub ranks the state 46th worst states for teen drivers.

Seven of the eight teens in Saturday’s crash would be allowed to apply for a driver’s license in South Dakota. Teens can be licensed with a restricted permit at 14. There are restrictions until 16 such as the times the driver is able to drive alone and the number of passengers allowed and the purpose of driving.

In 2022, drivers 14-15 accounted for 2.6% of all fatal and injury crashes in the state, according to the South Dakota Department of Public Safety. Twenty-nine of those drivers were speeding.

Drivers in the 16-17 age range accounted for 353 drivers for 5.7% of those driving in all fatal and injury crashes, according to the DPS. Forty-two of those drivers were speeding.

Speeding was a factor in one-third of all fatal crashes involving teen drivers in the U.S. in 2022, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) .

Clemens said today that witnesses indicated the crash vehicle’s speed in Sioux Falls at about 100 mph.

No matter the age of the teen driver, the NHTSA, said passengers can be a distraction. There were seven reported teens in the Saturday crash vehicle.

According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC ), each additional teen or young adult passenger in a vehicle driven by an unsupervised teen increases the risk for crash.

A 2012 NHTSA study said that a teen driver was 2 1/2 times more likely to engage in one or more potentially risky behaviors when drive with one teen compared to driving alone. If there were multiple teens in the vehicle, the likelihood of potentially risky behavior increased to three times.

Risky behavior includes distracted driving and speeding.

According to the SD DPS , 58% of teens involved in traffic crashes are distracted. Passengers are among the most popular distractions, the DPS said.

Although use of seat belts by the eight teens in the crash has not been released, police said multiple teens were thrown from the vehicle.

Teens in the U.S. have a history of not wearing seat belts. A study released in 2016 showed that 32% of high school student passengers in South Dakota wore a seat belt.

Although adult seat belt use has increased in the U.S. in 2021, nine of 10 teen passengers killed in a vehicle crash were not wearing seat belts.

For drivers under 25, alcohol consumption is linked to 14.7% of drivers in fatal crashes and 28.5% of the drivers in injury crashes in 2022, according to the SD DPS. But, 31 drivers under 17 in all crashes were drinking, 18 of those were injury crashes and none were in fatal crashes, according to the SD DPS.

Clemens said in today’s news briefing that toxicology reports would be done on the teens in the crash but the well-being of the teens was the first priority. If needed the police could subpoena the lab tests from the hospital, Clemens said.

In the U.S., 22% of teen drivers involved in fatal crashes had been drinking. According to The Zebra, South Dakota’s teens have the second highest teen underage driving under the influence arrests in the U.S. at 130 arrests per 100,000 teens.

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