Officials confirm 2 deaths in South Dakota due to Thursday’s storm

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (Dakota News Now) - Authorities say a widespread windstorm that swept across South Dakota Thursday caused two deaths.

The two deaths both took place in southeast South Dakota, officials announced in a press conference Friday morning.

Minnehaha County Sheriff Mike Milstead identified one victim as 61-year-old Wendy Lape of Wentworth. Milstead said she and her husband were driving near Colton when the storm hit. A chunk of wood came through a window of their vehicle and struck Lape. She was taken to a hospital, where she later died from her injuries.

The other victim was killed when a tree fell on her vehicle on S. Norton Avenue in Sioux Falls. Her husband and child had just gotten out of the vehicle when the tree fell, trapping her inside. A close family friend identified her as Annie Lanning. She was a teacher at Lincoln High School. Officials with the district confirmed earlier Friday that a teacher at the school recently died. A friend of Lanning’s has set up a Go Fund Me for funeral costs.

In addition to the two deaths in South Dakota, authorities in Minnesota say one person was killed when a grain bin fell onto a car in Kandiyohi County.

The storm moved across the region in a matter of hours Thursday afternoon into the evening, with wind gusts approaching and even exceeding 100 miles per hour in many spots.

Here's a look at some of the top wind gusts around the region as those storms rolled through last night. A 107 mph wind gust near Tripp! Officially and the airport in Sioux Falls, we had a 63 mph wind gust. #sdwx pic.twitter.com/LT6MVO0Sum
— Aaron Doudna (@Aaron_Doodah) May 13, 2022