CLARKFIELD, Minn. (FOX 9) - A skid loader that slid down a drainage ditch left one man dead in Yellow Medicine County on Tuesday.

Fatal skid loader accident

What we know:

The Yellow Medicine County Sheriff’s Office says on Aug. 20, 2025, it received a 911 call around 1:40 p.m. reporting that a skid loader had slid down into a drainage ditch and was trapping a man inside near the 2900 block of 440th Street, in rural Clarkfield.

Emergency responders found the skid loader on its side in the ditch, fully submerged.

Dustin Lucius Virkus, 51, of Clarkfield was pronounced dead at the scene.

What we don't know:

Authorities have not elaborated on what led up to the skid loader going into the drainage ditch.

The Source: Information provided by the Yellow Medicine County Sheriff’s Office.

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