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Best friends were victims of fatal accident
Published 06:59 a.m., February 9, 2010
They were best friends in high school.
The three musketeers.
After graduating from Mankato East High School in May 2009 Dustin Lemke, Tacy Masters and Savanny By went off on maybe their greatest adventure together.
The three enrolled in college together, choosing North Dakota State in Fargo.
The trio went home to visit friends and relatives last weekend. When they headed home Sunday Tacy Masters was behind the wheel, even though she rarely drove the five-hour trip from Mankato to Fargo.
Interstate 94 was covered with ice and snow when Masters, By and Lemke approached the Dalton area. When Masters reached the area between the on and off ramps near the County 82 overpass, she lost control of her vehicle on the icy road and went off into a ditch.
Lemke and By exited the vehicle and walked toward the road to see if they could verify their location to call for help. They told Masters to stay behind in the vehicle where she would be safe.
While walking in the median, Lemke and By were struck by a 1998 Jeep driven by Katy Steidl, 22, of Alexandria, that had also lost control on the ice, according to the Minnesota State Patrol.
Lemke suffered the greatest injuries. He was airlifted to a hospital in Fargo where he later died as a result of his injuries. By was by ambulance to Lake Region Hospital in Fergus with what the State Patrol described were “non-life threatening injuries.”
Masters, who stayed behind in the vehicle, was not injured. Steidel, the driver of the jeep that hit the two men, also was not injured.
The news of Lemke’s death hit Mankato East High School hard Monday, according to a report in the Mankato Free Press. The school was offering counseling services to help students cope with the loss of a friend and former classmate.
Lemke was a National Honor Student whose strong character and sense of humor endeared him to both staff and students, school officials told the Free Press on Monday.
He was a three-sport athlete in football, basketball and baseball. In 2009, he was a regional finalist for the Minnesota State High School League’s Triple-A award, which is given to students who demonstrate excellence in academics, arts and athletics. He had a 3.869 grade-point average in high school and was involved in band, choir and orchestra.
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