According to Hughes County Sheriff’s Deputy Bob Duncan, Pierre resident Allen Aden, 60, was driving southbound on South Dakota Highway 1804 early Thursday afternoon in a 2005 Chevy Avalanche, pulling a boat on a trailer. Aden was approaching the Peoria Flats turnoff, located at a curve in the road.
Duncan said Aden tried to get out of the way after he saw a northbound 1999 Chevy Suburban, driven by Charles Sutter, 59, swerve into his lane. The Suburban struck the boat and separated it from the Avalanche. The boat and trailer were knocked into the ditch on the west side of the road, where the boat flew off the trailer and landed upside-down.
  
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According to Duncan, Sutter was disoriented getting out of his vehicle and told deputies on the scene he had a medical issue and blacked out. Sutter was taken to St. Mary’s Healthcare Center in an ambulence for treatment and released.
If the accident is related to a medical problem, no charges will be filed, Duncan said.
Sutter’s Suburban suffered about $10,000 in damage. The relatively new boat and the trailer were a total loss, Duncan said, about $55,000 in damage. In addition, there were items worth $4,000 in the boat, and the hitch connecting the trailer to the Avalanche suffered $1,000 damage.
Pierre Rescue Squad members responded to the scene to deal with the boat, which was leaking fuel into the ditch. No fire or explosion occurred. No one was injured except for Sutter, who suffered minor cuts and abrasions.
Duncan said the investigation is ongoing.
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