RANSOM CO., N.D. (trfnews.i234.me) – In a devastating update, charges are being upgraded against 37-year-old Amber Patel of Oakes, North Dakota, following a fatal crash near Lisbon on Tuesday afternoon. Initially charged with criminal vehicular injury, Patel now faces a more severe charge of criminal vehicular homicide.
The North Dakota Highway Patrol reports that Patel rear-ended 67-year-old Jerry Rufsvold’s vehicle as he prepared to turn off Highway 32. The impact forced Rufsvold’s car into the path of an oncoming vehicle, resulting in a head-on collision. Rufsvold, a resident of Lisbon, was airlifted to Sanford in Fargo, where he tragically succumbed to his injuries on Saturday.
The driver of the third vehicle involved in the crash escaped unharmed. It was noted that Rufsvold was the only driver not wearing a seat belt at the time of the accident.