(Hospers)– A Ruthven man escaped injury after the vehicle he was driving crashed and burned near Hospers, but wound up going to jail on a drunk driving charge.
The Sioux County Sheriff’s Office says 29-year-old Austin Simmelink of Ruthven was driving a 1988 GMC pickup northbound on Highway 60 about a mile south of Hospers when he apparently swerved to miss a deer. Simmelink lost control of the vehicle, which went into the east ditch. While he was trying to get it back onto the roadway, authorities say the truck overheated and started on fire. Simmelink managed to get out of it uninjured.
Upon investigating, Simmelink was arrested for 2nd offense operating while intoxicated and failure to maintain control.
The pickup was totaled.
The incident took place shortly after 2:30 a.m. Sunday.
