Des Moines County, April 7, 2012 Fatality Accident

Here is our second analysis today it’s the fatal accident out of Des Moines County, Iowa on April 7, 2012 at 6:20 a.m.. The location is noted to be NB/EB US 61 at mile #34.85. So what happened? Well, according to the Iowa State Patrol report it’s a head-on collision where the southbound car (Patrick Gray is the driver of the Ford Focus) for some reason got into the northbound lane of travel and collided with the northbound Chrysler (driven by Michael Delaney). Can’t tell from what little information is available by I’d be looking to see if Gray was overworked, and just fell asleep at the wheel. Driver fatigue in these pressing economic times is a growing concern.

• Des Moines County Population 40,325 in 2010 Census
• That’s down from 42,351 in 2000.
• County Seat is Burlington, Iowa.
• Location: Southeast Iowa.
• Highways include 34 and 61.
• The name comes from the Des Moines River, a tributary of the Mississippi River.

UNIT 1 WAS SOUTHBOUND IN THE NORTHBOUND LANES OF US 61. UNIT 2 WAS NORTHBOUND IN THE NORTHBOUND LANES OF US 61. BOTH VEHICLES COLLIDED HEAD-ON IN THE RIGHT-HAND NORTHBOUND LANE. AFTER IMPACT, UNIT 1 ROTATED 180 DEGREES AND CAME TO REST ON THE WEST SHOULDER. UNIT 2 CAME TO REST FACING EAST ON THE EAST SHOULDER. COLLISION REMAINS UNDER INVESTIGATION.
Crash Information

L O C A T I O N	Date of Accident 4/17/2012	Time of Accident  06:20 AM	County Des Moines - 29	Accident occurred within corporate limits of (city)	Law Enforcement Case Number: 2012021907
	Literal Description  NB/EB US US 61 MILE #34.85				Legal Intervention? No	Private Property? No
					X-Coordinate: 653986.4
					Y-Coordinate 4510782.

U N I T 1	Driver's Name - Last GRAY			First PATRICK			Middle CHARLES		Suffix JR
	City WEVER			State IA - Iowa, US				Zip 52658
	Driver's Age 22					Citation Charge Code 1		Citation Charge 1
	Gender Male	State IA - Iowa, US	Class C - Non-commercial vehicle or commercial Veh w/26000 GVWR or less & either 16 Pass Design or Hazmat	Endorsements None	Restrictions B - Cor Lenses	Citation Charge Code 2		Citation Charge 2
	Alcohol Test Given? 2 - Blood			Drug Test Given? 2 - Blood		Citation Charge Code 3		Citation Charge 3
						Citation Charge Code 4		Citation Charge 4
	Seating Position 01 - Front: Left Side / Motorcycle Driver	Injury Status 1 - Fatal	Occupant Protection 2 - Shoulder and lap belt used		Airbag Deployment 1 - Deployed front of person	Airbag Switch Status 3 - No ON/OFF switch present		Ejection 1 - Not ejected	Ejection Path	Trapped 3 - Extricated by mechanical means
	Transported to: KING-LYNK FUNERAL HOME					Transported by: KING-LYNK FUNERAL HOME
	Insurance Co. Name
	Year 2000		Make Ford - FORD		Model FOCUS		Style 4D		Approximate Cost to Repair or Replace 5000
	Initial Travel Direction 3 - South	Vehicle Action 01 - Movement essentially straight	Speed Limit 65	Point of Initial Impact 01 - Front	Most Damaged Area 01 - Front	Extent of Damage 5 - Severe, vehicle totaled	Underride/Override 1 - None
	Total Occupants 1	Traffic Controls 01 - No controls present	Vehicle Config. 01 - Passenger car	Cargo Body Type 01 - Not applicable	Vehicle Defect 01 - None	Driver Condition 9 - Unknown	Vision Obscured 01 - Not obscured	Contributing Circumstances, Driver (up to 2)
	SEQUENCE OF EVENTS			First Event 21 - Vehicle in traffic	Second Event 01 - Ran off road, right	Third Event	Fourth Event	Most Harmful Event (by vehicle) 21 - Vehicle in traffic
	Emergency Vehicle Type 1 - Not applicable					Emergency Status 3 - Not Applicable
	Carrier Name			City		State			Zip
	Number of Axles			Gross Vehicle Weight Rating		Placard #			Hazardous Materials Released?

U N I T 2	Driver's Name - Last DELANEY			First MICHAEL			Middle GERALD		Suffix
	City WEST POINT			State IA - Iowa, US				Zip 52656
	Driver's Age 46					Citation Charge Code 1		Citation Charge 1
	Gender Male	State IA - Iowa, US	Class C - Non-commercial vehicle or commercial Veh w/26000 GVWR or less & either 16 Pass Design or Hazmat	Endorsements None	Restrictions B - Cor Lenses	Citation Charge Code 2		Citation Charge 2
	Alcohol Test Given? 1 - None			Drug Test Given? 1 - None		Citation Charge Code 3		Citation Charge 3
						Citation Charge Code 4		Citation Charge 4
	Seating Position 01 - Front: Left Side / Motorcycle Driver	Injury Status 2 - Incapacitating	Occupant Protection 2 - Shoulder and lap belt used		Airbag Deployment 1 - Deployed front of person	Airbag Switch Status 3 - No ON/OFF switch present		Ejection 1 - Not ejected	Ejection Path	Trapped 3 - Extricated by mechanical means
	Transported to: UIHC					Transported by: MED FORCE
	Insurance Co. Name
	Year 2010		Make Chrysler - CHRY		Model TOWN & COUNTRY		Style MV		Approximate Cost to Repair or Replace 20000
	Initial Travel Direction 1 - North	Vehicle Action 01 - Movement essentially straight	Speed Limit 65	Point of Initial Impact 01 - Front	Most Damaged Area 01 - Front	Extent of Damage 5 - Severe, vehicle totaled	Underride/Override 1 - None
	Total Occupants 1	Traffic Controls 01 - No controls present	Vehicle Config. 03 - Van or mini-van	Cargo Body Type 01 - Not applicable	Vehicle Defect 01 - None	Driver Condition 1 - Apparently normal	Vision Obscured 01 - Not obscured	Contributing Circumstances, Driver (up to 2)
	SEQUENCE OF EVENTS			First Event 21 - Vehicle in traffic	Second Event 01 - Ran off road, right	Third Event	Fourth Event	Most Harmful Event (by vehicle) 21 - Vehicle in traffic
	Emergency Vehicle Type 1 - Not applicable					Emergency Status 3 - Not Applicable
	Carrier Name			City		State			Zip
	Number of Axles			Gross Vehicle Weight Rating		Placard #			Hazardous Materials Released?

ACCIDENT ENVIRONMENT		ROADWAY CHARACTERISTICS Major Contributing Circumstances:	WORKZONE RELATED?	SEQUENCE OF EVENTS
Location of First Harmful Event 1 - On Roadway	Weather Conditions (up to two) 01 - Clear	Environment 1 - None apparent	Location	First Harmful Event of Crash (use codes 11-42 only) 21 - Vehicle in traffic
Manner of Crash/Collision 2 - Head-on		Roadway 01 - None apparent	Type
Light Conditions 3 - Dawn	Surface Conditions 1	Type of Roadway Junction/Feature 01 - No special feature	Workers Present?

D I A G R A M 0

NARRATIVE

UNIT 1 WAS SOUTHBOUND IN THE NORTHBOUND LANES OF US 61. UNIT 2 WAS NORTHBOUND IN THE NORTHBOUND LANES OF US 61. BOTH VEHICLES COLLIDED HEAD-ON IN THE RIGHT-HAND NORTHBOUND LANE. AFTER IMPACT, UNIT 1 ROTATED 180 DEGREES AND CAME TO REST ON THE WEST SHOULDER. UNIT 2 CAME TO REST FACING EAST ON THE EAST SHOULDER. COLLISION REMAINS UNDER INVESTIGATION.

Officer ANDREASEN	Badge No. 161	Time Officer Notified of Accident 06:32	Time Officer Arrived At Scene 07:22
Name of Agency P13	Date of Report 4/17/2012	Investigation made at scene? Yes	T.I. #

Any questions about this report may be directed to the following address:
Iowa State Patrol District 13 Office
1300 S Grand Ave
Mt Pleasant,IA 52641-1862
Phone:             (319) 385-8715      
Fax: (319) 385-2743