7-Year-Old Killed, Five Injured in Western North Dakota Highway Crash

A 7-year-old passenger died at the scene Thursday morning after a 2014 Ford Escape blew through a stop sign north of Glen Ullin and was struck broadside by a pickup, killing the child and sending four others to a Bismarck hospital with serious injuries.

Anthony Deavers, 35, of Beulah, was driving a 2022 Chevrolet Colorado south on Highway 49 when Laura Backhaus, 40, of New Salem, driving a 2014 Ford Escape west on 28th Street Southwest, approached a stop sign. The Ford failed to stop and entered the intersection, crossing the path of the Chevrolet, which struck the Ford on the front passenger side. Both vehicles left the roadway. The crash, according to the North Dakota Highway Patrol, happened at 7:12 a.m. at the intersection of Highway 49 and 28th Street Southwest, roughly 15 miles north of Glen Ullin in Mercer County, a stretch of rural highway about 54 miles west of Bismarck.

The 7-year-old passenger in the Ford died at the scene. Three other children in the Ford, ages 12, 9 and 4, were seriously injured, as were both drivers. Both drivers and three of the passengers in the Escape were taken to Sanford Medical Center in Bismarck with serious injuries. Ambulances from Mercer County, New Salem and Glen Ullin handled transport.

Fog blanketed the area at the time of the collision, the Highway Patrol said. Highway 49 was closed in both directions for about one hour.

Investigators are still working to determine whether the 7-year-old was wearing a seat belt at the time of the crash. All others involved were wearing seat belts, the Highway Patrol said in its release. Possible charges against Backhaus remain under investigation.

The Highway Patrol did not identify the children injured in the crash and said it would not release further information about them. The crash remains under investigation by the Highway Patrol.

For Stutsman County families who regularly travel I-94 and connecting rural highways into western North Dakota, this crash carries a direct warning. The intersection of Highway 49 and 28th Street Southwest is a rural, two-way stop where cross traffic has no signal, only a sign. Fog reduces the window for drivers approaching uncontrolled intersections to recognize cross-traffic hazards, and investigators are examining each of those factors as the case moves toward a charging decision. Anyone with information about the crash or the conditions at the intersection that morning can contact the North Dakota Highway Patrol at 701-328-2455.