Belle Fourche Man Whose Crash Conviction Was Overturned Files $20M Suit

RAPID CITY, S.D. (AP) — A Belle Fourche man whose conviction for a fatal crash on Interstate 90 was overturned has filed a $20 million lawsuit against a South Dakota Highway Patrol trooper and his supervisor, the state and others.

Oakley Engesser was convicted of vehicular homicide and vehicular battery for the 2000 crash on I-90 near Sturgis that killed his friend, Dorothy Finley. A judge in October 2013 overturned Engesser's conviction and ordered a new trial, and the state Supreme Court upheld the ruling in November.

Engesser served 11 years of his 25-year sentence. The lawsuit accuses the trooper and Meade County state's attorney of withholding evidence.

A Highway Patrol spokesman couldn't immediately comment on the case. Attorney General Marty Jackley, who decided against retrying Engesser in January, wasn't immediately available to comment.

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