Head-on collision in Palo Alto County

In an accident in Palo Alto County on March 5^th, 2012 the driver that died was driving a car, is reported to cross the center line and run head-on into a semi truck. The accident’s causes remains under investigation and so we can conclude nothing, except the driver for some reason lost control of his car that has led to his demise.

Trooper’s Narrative:

ON MARCH 5, 2012 AT APPROXIMATELY 7:42 A.M. - UNIT 1A BEIGE 2001 OLDSMOBILE ALERO DRIVEN BY RONNIE WILLIAM MENNEKE, AGE 47, FROM ALGONA, IA WAS WESTBOUND ON HWY 18 AT APPROXIMATELY THE 116 MILE MARKER. FOR AN UNKNOWN REASON HIS VEHICLE CROSSED THE CENTER LINE CAUSING A HEAD-ON COLLISION WITH UNIT 2 A EASTBOUND 2010 FREIGHTLINER DRIVEN BY CRAIG MITCHELL KLATT, AGE 39 FROM SHELDON, IA. MR. MENNEKE WAS PRONOUNCED DEAD AT THE SCENE. MR. KLATT WAS TRANSPORTED TO THE EMMETSBURG HOSPITAL BY THE PALO ALTO COUNTY AMBULANCE, WHERE HE WAS LATER TREATED AND RELEASED. THE IOWA STATE PATROL WAS ASSISTED ON THE SCENE BY THE PALO ALTO COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT, PALO ALTO COUNTY MEDICS, EMMETSBURG FIRE DEPARTMENT, CYLINDER FIRE DEPARTMENT AND THE IOWA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION. THIS COLLISION IS STILL UNDER INVESTIGATION BY THE IOWA STATE PATROL.

 Crash Information

L O C A T I O N	Date of Accident 3/5/2012	Time of Accident  07:42 AM	County Palo Alto - 74	Accident occurred within corporate limits of (city)	Law Enforcement Case Number: 2012013680
	Literal Description  HWY 18 AT THE 116 MM				Legal Intervention? No	Private Property? No
					X-Coordinate: 376652.2
					Y-Coordinate 4771146.

U N I T 1	Driver's Name - Last MENNEKE			First RONNIE			Middle WILLIAM		Suffix
	City ALGONA			State IA - Iowa, US				Zip 50511
	Driver's Age 47					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 1 - Fatal	Occupant Protection 2 - Shoulder and lap belt used		Airbag Deployment 1 - Deployed front of person	Airbag Switch Status 1 - Switch in ON position		Ejection 1 - Not ejected	Ejection Path	Trapped 3 - Extricated by mechanical means
	Transported to:					Transported by:
	Insurance Co. Name
	Year 2001		Make Oldsmobile - OLDS		Model ALERO		Style 4D		Approximate Cost to Repair or Replace 10000
	Initial Travel Direction 4 - West	Vehicle Action 01 - Movement essentially straight	Speed Limit 55	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 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	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 KLATT			First CRAIG			Middle MITCHELL		Suffix
	City SHELDON			State IA - Iowa, US				Zip 51201
	Driver's Age 39					Citation Charge Code 1		Citation Charge 1
	Gender Male	State IA - Iowa, US	Class A - Veh w/26001 GVWR or more Towed unit is 10001 GVWR or more	Endorsements None	Restrictions None	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 6 - Not applicable	Airbag Switch Status 3 - No ON/OFF switch present		Ejection 1 - Not ejected	Ejection Path	Trapped 1 - Not trapped
	Transported to: EMMETSBURG HOSPITAL					Transported by: PALO ALTO COUNTY MEDICS
	Insurance Co. Name J T TRUCKING INC
	Year 2010		Make		Model		Style TR		Approximate Cost to Repair or Replace 65000
	Initial Travel Direction 2 - East	Vehicle Action 01 - Movement essentially straight	Speed Limit 55	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. 08 - Truck/tractor (bobtail)	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	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 J T TRUCKING INC			City SHELDON		State IA - Iowa, US			Zip 51201
	Number of Axles 3			Gross Vehicle Weight Rating 80000		Placard #			Hazardous Materials Released? 2 - No

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) 03 - Cloudy	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 1 - Daylight	Surface Conditions 1	Type of Roadway Junction/Feature 01 - No special feature	Workers Present?

D I A G R A M 0

NARRATIVE

ON MARCH 5, 2012 AT APPROXIMATELY 7:42 A.M. - UNIT 1A BEIGE 2001 OLDSMOBILE ALERO DRIVEN BY RONNIE WILLIAM MENNEKE, AGE 47, FROM ALGONA, IA WAS WESTBOUND ON HWY 18 AT APPROXIMATELY THE 116 MILE MARKER. FOR AN UNKNOWN REASON HIS VEHICLE CROSSED THE CENTER LINE CAUSING A HEAD-ON COLLISION WITH UNIT 2 A EASTBOUND 2010 FREIGHTLINER DRIVEN BY CRAIG MITCHELL KLATT, AGE 39 FROM SHELDON, IA. MR. MENNEKE WAS PRONOUNCED DEAD AT THE SCENE. MR. KLATT WAS TRANSPORTED TO THE EMMETSBURG HOSPITAL BY THE PALO ALTO COUNTY AMBULANCE, WHERE HE WAS LATER TREATED AND RELEASED. THE IOWA STATE PATROL WAS ASSISTED ON THE SCENE BY THE PALO ALTO COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT, PALO ALTO COUNTY MEDICS, EMMETSBURG FIRE DEPARTMENT, CYLINDER FIRE DEPARTMENT AND THE IOWA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION. THIS COLLISION IS STILL UNDER INVESTIGATION BY THE IOWA STATE PATROL.

Officer HESSE	Badge No. 499	Time Officer Notified of Accident 07:49	Time Officer Arrived At Scene 08:24
Name of Agency P06	Date of Report 3/5/2012	Investigation made at scene? Yes	T.I. #