The Lancaster County Sherriff’s office responded to a rollover accident this morning that tragically claimed the life of a Hickman man.
The sheriffs department was sent to the area of Highway 77 and Saltillo Road around 6:00 a.m.
Chief Deputy Ben Houchin recounted what led to this event. He says a 2007 Chevy Trailblazer was coming off Highway 2, and due to icy road conditions, lost control of the vehicle.
“It went into the east ditch, which was very steep, and rolled numerous times,” said Houchin.
The driver, 33-year-old Dalton Vorhies of Hickman, was not wearing his seatbelt at the time of the crash and was ejected from the vehicle. Both Hickman and Lincoln rescue departments responded to the scene, and Vorhies was declared deceased at 6:17 a.m.
Houchin said alcohol was not a factor in the crash, and reiterated that road conditions played a major part in the situation.
The Sherriff’s Office is in the process of interviewing crash witnesses. Houchin said, given how the vehicle rolled numerous times, speed is also believed to be a factor in the crash.
Houchin also reiterated that wearing a seatbelt can greatly decrease the likelihood of serious injury or death in situations like this, “Once you get ejected out, the likelihood of surviving falls greatly. We learned that he buckled his seatbelt underneath him so the vehicle would not ding,” said the Chief Deputy. “We tell people all the time: those seatbelts save lives. I can’t say he would have survived it 100%, but I know his odds would have been much greater if he had been wearing it.”
Given the location of the crash being off road, nearby roads remain open to traffic.