Police: Woman hits, injures officer with car after smoking marijuana

Makenzie Huber | Argus Leader

A Sioux Falls woman was arrested on multiple charges after she hit a police officer with her vehicle after smoking marijuana, police say.

The incident occurred when an officer was responding to a separate hit-and-run crash near 12th Street and Marion Road around 10:30 p.m. on Thursday, said police spokesman Sam Clemens.

The officer was talking to the 55-year-old female victim of the hit-and-run and the victim's 58-year-old husband, who had come to the scene of the crash to pick her up, Clemens said. The three, along with the woman's 2015 Kia Forte and the man's 2019 Dodge Ram, were about 20 to 30 feet away from the road on private property, he said.

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A westbound 2002 Chevy Impala crossed the center lane of traffic, drove over the sidewalk, scraped the side of the pickup and hit the officer in the arm, Clemens said. The car was originally headed toward the woman, but the officer pulled her out of the way before getting hit himself, he said.

The 41-year-old officer was treated at a local hospital, Clemens said. He did not know what the officer's condition was.

Police found out that the driver of the vehicle had been smoking marijuana shortly before the incident, Clemens said. They also found a pipe with meth residue in her vehicle, he said.

The driver, 20-year-old Karen Mae Hurkes from Sioux Falls, was arrested on charges of vehicular battery, possession of drug paraphernalia, driving under the influence, possession of marijuana, possession of a controlled substance and reckless driving.

"We never tested if there were drugs in her system, though through the investigation we found she had smoked marijuana," Clemens said. "We don't know if she was smoking meth or not."