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Community mourns loss of Luverne woman

Lead Summary
By
Mavis Fodness

“There are no words” was a common statement describing the loss of a 22-year-old Luverne woman in a July 23 automobile crash near Brandon, South Dakota.
Brooke Thompson, a lifelong Luverne resident, was remembered by hundreds of people who attended a July 24 memorial service at the Luverne Ice Arena and four days later at a prayer service at St. Catherine Catholic Church.
Thompson was a skater with Blue Mound Figure Skating and joined the club’s coaching staff last fall.
She became the “Keeper of the Sparkles.” It was her responsibility before ice shows to walk around the locker rooms adding glitter to all the girls’ faces.
Adding sparkle was something that came naturally to Thompson.
In her honor, dozens of mourners donned fuchsia-colored T-shirts.
On the back were the words “I can’t help it … I fell in a pile of glitter when I was a baby and I’ve been sparkly ever since.”
Friends and family members shared many positive memories of Thompson’s patience and understanding and of her love of all things glitter.
Her friends indicated that she was the “glue” that held everyone together.
In her honor, a GoFundMe account was started on July 25 with a goal of $5,000. The money would start the “Brooke Thompson Memorial Scholarship” to help future figure skaters in the local program.
As of Monday, the fund had more than 100 donors and had already surpassed its goal.
Thompson graduated from LHS in 2015.
She recently arranged for an internship at the Greater Minnesota Family Services in Willmar. This fall she was planning on earning her master’s degree in social work from the University of South Dakota in Vermillion.
A full obituary appears on page 7
 
The July 23 crash
Thompson was westbound on Interstate 90, one mile northwest of Brandon, in a 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee at 8:12 a.m. July 23.
According to the South Dakota State Patrol, she was in a line of traffic with a 2014 Chevrolet Impala driven by Kristin Houg, 49, of Garretson, South Dakota, and a 2013 GMC Terrain driven by Melissa Edmondson, 57, also of Garretson.
Traffic was almost stopped in the passing lane as traffic merged into that lane due to road construction.
A 2011 Peterbilt Conventional box truck was also westbound but in the driving lane. Driving the box truck was Nicholas Floyd, 34, of Bruce, South Dakota.
The report indicated Floyd moved to the passing lane then swerved back into the driving lane after hitting the GMC Terrain. He then rear-ended the Cherokee and pushed the Impala into the grass median.
The truck went through the grass median, across the eastbound lanes and came to rest in the south ditch of the eastbound lanes.
Thompson died at the scene.
Hough received no injuries and Edmonson received serious nonlife-threatening injuries in the incident.
Floyd was not injured but a passenger in the truck, Anell Knudson, 34, of Sioux Falls, received minor injuries.
The highway patrol continues to investigate the crash.
Seatbelts appeared to have been used by all of those involved.
Charges are pending against Floyd.

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