Recent Lincoln High School graduate identified as victim in I-229 crash

A recent Lincoln High School graduate died in a crash on Interstate 229 on Tuesday morning, the school told staff members.

Alex Lorang, 18, was a 2017 graduate of Lincoln, assistant principal Lance Luitjens told staff in an email.

"Alex was very involved in band and JROTC, and this will affect many of our students and staff alike," he said in the email.

The crash occurred Tuesday morning around 7 a.m. on Interstate 229 in the southbound lane near 26th Street.

The driver of a Ford F-150 "failed to negotiate a left-hand curve," before traveling onto the right shoulder and into a ditch, according to a release from the South Dakota Highway Patrol which does not name anyone involved in the accident.

The release said the driver of the F-150 then overcorrected to the left, causing the vehicle to cross I-229, striking the median and a guardrail before launching into the air and landing on top of a Honda CRV.

The 18-year-old male driver was ejected from the vehicle, the release said, and later pronounced dead at the scene.

The release said the 35-year-old male driver of the CRV received serious, non-life-threatening injuries, while two children, ages 4 and 5, received minor injuries.

In the email to staff, Luitjens said counselors are available for anyone who needs to grieve.

Lorang was enlisted in the Air Force in 2016, according to a story on Lorang in the Lincoln Statesman, the school's newspaper. The article was written after he had performed in his 100th Color Guard.

“It is a special accomplishment because a lot of people when they see a Color Guard think, ‘Oh, those are just the kids who march around,’” Lorang told the newspaper. “But to me, to present the colors and especially it being my 100th one really is significant because I get to represent my country as well as what I do here.”

Traffic was diverted at Rice and at 10th Streets after the crash. Roads were reopened at 10:30 a.m.

A Facebook photo from an @Argus911 follower appears to show one vehicle completely wrapped over the top of another vehicle.