Building collapse injures Rossie man

(Photo by Randy M. Cauthron) Police tape and rubble surround the scene Wednesday following a storm-related accident in Rossie. Strong winds at about 5 p.m. Tuesday caused the front of the storage shed to collapse. [Order this photo]

Winds picked up, a building crumbled and a Rossie man was transported to Sioux Falls, S.D., by ambulance after a freak accident in the town of about 60 residents.

Roger Struve and 31-year-old Flint Dandy of Rossie were finished with work at the Rossie Feed & Grain Co. and heading to their vehicles as a drizzle was coming down in Rossie. Struve thinks Dandy was walking a little closer to a dilapidated storage building on Main Street when strong winds knocked down the front of the structure. Dandy was knocked over by the rubble.

Dispatchers at the Spencer Communications Center received the call at 5:07 p.m. Tuesday. Members of the Royal Fire & Rescue Department along with the Clay County Sheriff's Office responded to the scene. Dandy was treated at Spencer Hospital, then transported to Avera McKennan Hospital for treatment.

Hospital officials in Sioux Falls were contacted Wednesday afternoon. They said Dandy is no longer at their facility, but had no additional information.

Dandy had been working at the Rossie grain elevator for about two weeks and had just bought a home in town.

Police tape now surrounds the collapsed building, which is owned by Ronnie Joenks of Rossie, according to Sheriff Randy Krukow's statement. Several employees who work in the nearby businesses have said the roof of the building was caving in well before Tuesday night's storms.

Webb and Peterson first responders also were paged to assist emergency crews at the scene.