(AKRON)–Two people died and a third person was seriously injured in a traffic accident five miles east of Akron this (Sunday) morning.
The Plymouth County Sheriff’s Office reports an eastbound vehicle on Highway Three, just east of Evergreen Avenue, went into the south ditch.
According to written information released by the sheriff’s office, the vehicle rolled several times before coming to rest against a utility pole. All three people in the vehicle were ejected and were found in the south ditch.
Two of the three died as a result of injuries from the accident. The third person is being treated at Mercy Medical Center in Sioux City and was listed in “serious” condition. The names and other information won’t be released until family members are contacted.
The Sheriff’s office was assisted by Akron Police, Fire and Ambulance, Le Mars Police, Siouxland Paramedics, Mercy Air Care and the Iowa State Patrol.
The sheriff’s office was notified of the accident around 12:30 this morning.
Pedestrian struck in Sioux City
(SIOUX CITY)–A pedestrian was struck while crossing a Sioux City street.
Sioux City Police report John Hamilton of Sioux City was walking west across Court Street around one in the morning Saturday when a car struck Hamilton.
Hamilton was taken to Mercy Medical Center and was receiving care in the Sioux City hospital’s Intensive Care Unit.
Based on a preliminary investigation, police report Hamilton was walking across Court Street in an area not intended for pedestrians to cross and not marked as a designated crosswalk. He was struck by a car driven by Stephanie Jeschke of Sioux City which was being driven south on Court Street.
Police also reported the pedestrian was suspected of being highly intoxicated at the time of the accident.
Storms carry hail, heavy rain through Siouxland
(SIOUX FALL)–Hail, strong winds and brief downpours accompanied thunderstorms early Saturday evening in northwest Iowa. The first rainfall in Le Mars in nearly a month totalled one-half inch.
The National Weather Service in Sioux Falls issued a Severe Thunderstorm Warning for western Plymouth County late Saturday afternoon.
The warning extended into central Sioux County after quarter-sized hail was reported seven miles south of Orange City around 5:15 Saturday afternoon.
A flash flood warning followed for eastern Sioux County and northwestern O’Brien County beginning at 8:30 Saturday night. National Weather Service radar indicated two to three inches of rain had fallen in the area.
At nine o’clock a trained spotter reported roads were flooded from Sheldon to southwest of Sheldon with water ponding in yards.
Mercy honored for care for stroke patients
(SIOUX CITY)–A Siouxland hospital is being recognized for the care stroke patients receive.
HealthGrades, a healthcare ratings group, listed Mercy Medical Center in Sioux City among the top five percent in the nation for stroke care. About five-thousand hospitals were included in the study using government data from 2007 to 2009.
Mercy also received HealthGrades top rating, five stars, for coronary interventional procedures; treatment of heart failure; total knee replacement surgery, appendectomy surgery, and treatment of stroke.
Clothing project award goes to O’Brien County 4-Her
(AMES)–An O’Brien County 4-Her is being recognized with a state 4-H clothing project award.
Sterling Schnepf of rural Granville has held three years of sewing workshops, received state fashion revue top 10 percent for two years and was the Danforth “I Dare You” winner locally.
Schnepf is the 18-year-old daughter of Richard and Sharon Schnepf. She made quilts personalized for her 11 classmates in her senior year at Spalding Catholic.
The state 4-H clothing project award includes a $100 savings bond from the Mary Jo and Glen Mente Endowment and the Iowa 4-H foundation.
The collegiate 4-Her at Iowa State University is a freshman majoring in animal science.
Driver convicted in Cedar Rapids
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) A jury has convicted a 36-year-old Hiawatha man of vehicular homicide in a case where the paralyzed crash victim had chosen to stop life support before his death.
The jury took about five hours to find Troy Fox guilty in the death of 32-year-old Ruben Mayo of Hiawatha.
Mayo suffered a crippling spinal cord injury in a crash Oct. 5, 2009. He was a passenger in a car driven by Fox, who was intoxicated and lost control of the vehicle and hit a light pole.
Mayo chose to withdraw life support after learning he was paralyzed from the mid-neck down and couldn’t breathe without a ventilator.
Attorneys for Fox argued he wasn’t guilty of vehicular homicide because Mayo chose to end his life.
Sentencing is set Dec. 17 in Linn County District Court in Cedar Rapids.
Police: Elderly victim researched assisted suicide
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) Des Moines police say an elderly woman who feared dementia took her own life after failing to get legal help with assisted suicide.
Police say the 81-year-old woman climbed stacked chairs and a stool high enough so that she could get over the edge of her apartment’s balcony railing.
An employee of the retirement center where the woman lived found the body outside the center early Thursday.
Police say the woman left behind two notes indicating her death was a suicide and clipped news articles about assisted suicide.
The Des Moines Register reports the woman’s husband died from pneumonia as a complication of Parkinson’s disease in 2007.
Iowa man died of natural causes at SD truck stop
ABERDEEN, S.D. (AP) A man found dead last week at an Aberdeen truck stop has been identified as a truck driver from Iowa.
Brown County coroner Michael Carlsen told the Aberdeen American News that 73-year-old George Klett, of Cantril, Iowa, died of natural causes.
Klett’s body was found Thursday inside his truck at the truck stop.
UNI receives $10 million gift for scholarships
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa (AP) A West Des Moines couple has pledged $10 million for scholarships for University of Northern Iowa students.
Officials at the Cedar Falls university say the gift from Mark and Jill Oman is the largest ever received from UNI graduates and the largest ever for student scholarships.
Mark Oman is senior executive vice president of Wells Fargo Co. and co-chair of the university’s $150 million Imagine the Impact campaign.
The campaign has raised $109 million since it began in 2005 and is scheduled to continue through 2013.
UNI President Ben Allen says the Omans’ gift will make a “profound impact” on future generations of students.
UI sponsoring late night activities at dorms
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) Students at the University of Iowa have the option of spending their evenings at a host of school-funded, late-night activities at their dorms now that the bar-entry age in Iowa City has risen to 21.
The Iowa City Press-Citizen reports that the university decided to spend $100,000 this semester to pay for organized activities at residence halls, such as soccer tournaments, karaoke, game nights and dances.
Many activities start at 9 p.m. and last until 1 a.m. and are planned on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights. The most popular events have drawn up to 400 students with many events drawing between 80 and 100 students.
In June, Iowa City leaders approved an ordinance requiring that only people over age 21 could be allowed into bars at night. The measure that would repeal the ordinance will be on the Nov. 2 ballot.
(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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