RAPID CITY, S.D. – An Iowa man has pleaded guilty in connection with a fatal UTV crash that claimed the life of a 9-year-old girl in Hughes County on the Fourth of July.
South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley says 38-year-old Zachary Berger of Indianola, Iowa, entered a guilty plea Thursday to second-degree manslaughter in Hughes County Circuit Court. Berger also admitted to an amended habitual offender enhancement, increasing his maximum possible sentence to 15 years in prison.
The crash occurred on July 4 and resulted in the death of a 9-year-old passenger. Authorities have not released additional details about the circumstances of the crash.
The South Dakota Highway Patrol, the Hughes County Sheriff’s Office, and South Dakota Game, Fish and Parks investigated the case.
Berger is scheduled to be sentenced on December 31. The South Dakota Attorney General’s Office prosecuted the case.
