FILE: South Dakota Highway Patrol Car
Anthony Wright/KSOO-AM
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A Canistota man was found dead after his semi-truck left Interstate 29, traveled through a cornfield and came to rest on a gravel road in Union County Monday evening.

The Highway Patrol says 66-year-old Gerald Fry was southbound on I-29, five miles north of Elk Point, just after 8:30pm when, for an unknown reason, his semi-truck left the roadway.

Fry's vehicle crossed the median and northbound lanes and entered a cornfield to the east of Interstate 29.

Troopers say the semi-truck traveled for about a mile in the cornfield before it encountered a steep ditch embankment at 473rd Avenue.

The truck crossed the gravel road and the trailer became high centered, bringing the vehicle to a stop.

The Patrol says Fry was wearing a seat belt, but he may have suffered from a medical emergency which may have caused the crash.

Fry was dead at the scene when first responders arrived.

An autopsy will be conducted to determine the cause of death.

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