What should I do if I strike a black cow in the roadway in rural America?

As a service to our clients living outside of Iowa we provide this list of crash reports from the Iowa State Patrol. We understand the difficulty our clients from out of state have in resolving a car, motorcycle, SUV, semi or truck accident case from outside of Iowa. We are here to assist you. If you have had an accident in Iowa but live in another state please give us a call and we will provide whatever services are needed to assist concluding your insurance settlement. 515-222-1110 or sdlombardi@aol.com. Our website is www.lombardilaw.com. We look forward to hearing from you.

I-29 Motorcycle Accident Kills 4

The Iowa State Patrol has identified the four motorcyclists killed in a Monday night crash on Interstate Highway 29. Officers also named Andrew Schlichtemeier, 21, as the pick-up driver who reportedly swerved into the oncoming lane in a construction zone and struck the bikers just south of Little Sioux. Schlichtemeier was treated at Burgess Hospital in Onawa and released, the State Patrol said in an online report. The motorcyclists are: – Dennis Chaney, 62, of Glenwood. – Steven L. Benscoter, 62, of Pacific Junction. – Jay C. Bock, 48, of Omaha, Neb. – Dale E. Aspedon, 49, of Glenwood.

Iowa Car Accidents Causing Injury and Property Damage

As a service to our clients living outside of Iowa we provide this list of crash reports from the Iowa State Patrol. We understand the difficulty our clients from out of state have in resolving a car, motorcycle, SUV, semi or truck accident case from outside of Iowa. We are here to assist you. If you have had an accident in Iowa but live in another state please give us a call and we will provide whatever services are needed to assist concluding your insurance settlement. 515-222-1110 or sdlombardi@aol.com. Our website is www.lombardilaw.com. We look forward to hearing from you.

Iowa Fatalities

As a service to our clients living outside of Iowa we provide this list of crash reports from the Iowa State Patrol. We understand the difficulty our clients from out of state have in resolving a car, motorcycle, SUV, semi or truck accident case from outside of Iowa. We are here to assist you. If you have had an accident in Iowa but live in another state please give us a call and we will provide whatever services are needed to assist concluding your insurance settlement. 515-222-1110 or sdlombardi@aol.com. Our website is www.lombardilaw.com. We look forward to hearing from you.

Polk County Car Accidents

As a service to our clients living outside of Iowa we provide this list of crash reports from the Iowa State Patrol. We understand the difficulty our clients from out of state have in resolving a car, motorcycle, SUV, semi or truck accident case from outside of Iowa. We are here to assist you. If you have had an accident in Iowa but live in another state please give us a call and we will provide whatever services are needed to assist concluding your insurance settlement. 515-222-1110 or sdlombardi@aol.com. Our website is www.lombardilaw.com. We look forward to hearing from you.

Motorcycles and water covered roads don't mix.

These are the big news items and then there are the smaller flood issues that seem to create havoc in Iowa. One seems like a nuisance but it’s really a lot more than just an inconvenience to some motorists. At mile marker 37 on I-35 near New Virginia it flooded over due to storm drains being partially obstructed or “plugged”. Seems like a maintenance issue to me. It’s hard to imagine this occurring on a major interstate highway, but apparently it did. Follow the link and you’ll see a photo with a red SUV sitting partially on the shoulder with the front end off into a water clogged ditch. I-35 Crash Reported After Heavy Rain Hits, KCCI

Are sink holes possible on I-35 and I-80 in Iowa?

For those driving through Kansas City, Missouri know that westbound I-70 to westbound I-435 there will be detours and delay, due to a sinkhole that developed. A full lane of travel has fallen off this five-lane section of road. See KMBC-TV for the full story and before leaving on a trip travelling through KC check the MoDOT site for updated road conditions.

Weird case because impact is made to appear slight, but death ensued

A car accident in Mike Bryant’s neck-of-woods (Minnesota) involves and Iowa family from Riverside. This 8-year-old is a passenger in his family’s car and is killed when a second car sideswipes the car he’s in causing his death. From the report it appears the sideswiping between the two cars occurred when they were traveling in opposite directions. There are few details about the mechanics of the crash.

Did texting while driving kill this Iowa teen?

Evidence at the crash site shows texting killed this Iowa teen. A 17-year-old from Iowa has died from a single-vehicle accident caused by her being distracted with texting at the wheel. She was running an errand when the accident occurred. She was from Mechanicsville, Iowa. Texting while driving is not much different than driving while under the influence of alcohol. The driver was a very pretty young lady. You can see her photograph at Teen was likely sending text message before fatal crash. The accident happened on Yankee Avenue. The car was heading southbound when she lost control, entered the west ditch, overcorrected and rolled. I’ve written extensively about this subject and wonder who the other person was who was being texted?

I-35's Grand Avenue On-ramp in West Des Moines is an accident waiting to happen

Interstate highway speeds can increase how fast you get to your destination but decrease the time for making critical driver decisions. Knowing the location of outmoded sections of highways can assist local residents in helping to avoid colliding with nonresident motorists. This motorcycle collision is one example.

It's the Cell Phone Participant Who's not in the car accident that lives with the guilt.

You have control over what you do and can easily just hang up. Here is what people don’t think about, who are on the other end of those phone calls? If you’re talking to a driver by cell simply hang up before you help to cause a fatality.

Another I-35 Road Construction in Iowa is Coming

There are other projects more important to people from around the state of Iowa. The other road work is listed in the Des Moines Register and includes those listed below. WHO also carries coverage for Road Work. A printable state projects list and map can be obtained online with the Iowa Department of Transportation.

Car accidents can cost parents their life savings; here's how to protect yours.

One dumb night of drinking and driving by the kids can cost the parents their life savings. Not because of what they did or didn’t do but because another youngster or young adult wasn’t thinking about the consequences of their actions. Take this case for example, what if your child were one of the passengers.

Big Brother on I-235, I-80 and I-35; Coincidence or a sense of humor?

Did George Orwell place the 84 cameras on the interstate in Des Moines? George Orwell wrote a book that was later turned into a movie. The title is Nineteen Eighty-Four. In the book, written in 1949 the thought police control society not so much for what they have done, but for what they are thinking. What we have is a police state trying to control the population by discovering and then reeducating (or eradicating) those who think in ways contrary to the wishes of the controlling and powerful few.

Traffic Snarls at the LeClair I-80 Bridge to Illinois

Le Claire, Iowa – The I-80 Bridge crossing the Mississippi River into Illinois will undergo $10.3 million of repairs and will be closed to traffic starting on Monday. The closing will continue to perhaps July 2010. Here is how the Des Moines Register reporters the traffic flow, rerouting and detoured routes.

Eleven Amish Killed in Head-on Semi-Collision on Kentucky Highway

The Amish Community is again suffering. You will recall the horrific slaughter of Amish school children in 2006 by a milk-truck driver carrying three guns in Nickel Mines, Pennsylvania. This weekend eleven members of the Mennonite Community were killed in a Kentucky car accident when a semi-truck crossed over the center line striking their van head-on. They were driving to Kalona, Iowa to attend a wedding. Iowa has a large Mennonite population in and around Kalona.

Iowa and Midwest News for the Day - Reality TV Isn't Real Life

Have you ever had one of those moments when you can’t believe what you’re reading? Well this is one of those days. REALITY TV ISN’T REALLY REALITY Creston, Iowa – The first news item available is from Creston, Iowa where the news report is of an 18-year-old who while attempting to climb a utility or power pole was electrocuted and died. It appears the young man was with friends and while attempting to climb this utility pole came into contact with a power line. Grinnell, Iowa – Two freshman attending Grinnell College were filming themselves jumping onto a southbound freight train when one of them must have missed and fell under the train’s wheels. One of his legs was severely injured, described as almost severed. Perhaps the lesson here is that reality television has little to do with real life. When you think it does it’s perhaps time to examine your common sense button and make sure it’s engaged.

Interstate Travel Safety - What not to do after an Interstate Crash

I’ve written before about it being dangerous to walk away from an accident. Scott County, Iowa - It happened again; this time in Iowa on I-80 near Le Claire. In this case we have two people who attempted to walk to safety after the car they were in got stuck in the median; probably du to snow covering or standing water and mud.

Why would the Iowa House vote to ban texting while driving for only teens?

The Iowa Senate put the House in its place quickly, very quickly, said “NO” to the House version of the texting while driving ban, which was written only for teens. In essence the Senate said, “Are you serious? Get real and stop wasting our time.”

Iowa and Midwest News for the Day - Dogs, Medical Mistakes and Going Green

Chicago, Illinois – All morning I’ve been waiting for a “Blame President Obama” story and this is it. Because the story has a Chicago connection it qualifies as having at least some fact associated with the President, so the Obama-blamers can shout loudly, “It’s not his color that bothers us we just don’t like him, he’s a socialist.” Here is the story. A man is being sought in the Halloween Hit-n-Run of a pedestrian, a 25-year-old DePaul University student who died. Although it’s reported the man doesn’t have a driver’s license and may have fled to Mexico it could still be the fault of President Obama because … umm … well it just could, trust me.

More No Snooze News, Nebraska, Cyberspace and Michigan

It’s such an interesting day of news for today. This poor guy from Nebraska gets killed after surviving the crash and walking away. The second idea is a survival guide for being the hospital. Yes, sad but true. The third idea is that Iowa is learning something from the Chinese. Like the Chinese exporting babies milk laced with melamine we Iowans (Iowaegans? Iowanites?) are exporting fixer uppers to those who use to manufacture cars. Welcome to the new America; the best country that money can buy.

Does the OnStar System Eliminate Stolen Cars and High Speed Chases?

Recently I covered a high speed chase on I-35 near Ames, Iowa. The driver of the car being chased by police crossed over the median strip and headed the wrong-way into oncoming southbound traffic. He ran head-on into a semi and died. The issue is one of the safety of non-offending drivers and their passengers. What if a mother and a kids’ soccer team in a van was struck head-on rather than a semi-truck? Then what?

Interstate Highway Mystery – Where did that body come from?

Shelton, Nebraska – Buffalo County - I-80 collision between two semi-trucks leaving one driver dead. After jackknifing in the westbound lane of Interstate 80 a second semi-truck also in the westbound lane collided with it, killing the driver of the jackknifed semi-truck. It’s reported to have occurred around 4:48 a.m. on Monday, January 25, 2010. The driver of the second truck is a 49-year-old man from Altoona, Iowa. He was hospitalized in Kearney, Nebraska at the Good Samaritan Hospital. Nebraska Highway Patrol investigated along with the Buffalo County Sheriff’s Office. The report is from Sarah Schultz with The Grand Island Independent news organization.

Iowa and Midwest News for the Day - PB&J's and Lefty-Righty School

Today’s blog is about a little bit of this and a little bit of that. If you think personal injury law is boring then you don’t know the business of law or haven't met the people involved. No one can say that practicing personal injury law isn’t interesting, because it is never the same set of facts. Today we will see a myriad of factual puzzles presented by the American public as they get into situations causing injury, death and damage to themselves and to others. I get to blog about peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, animal body parts, an aspiring actor, due-it-yourself veterinary surgery, some of the dangers of being a fireman and how not to be a do-it-yourself-lawyer.

Would hedges on the I-80 and I-35 Median Strip Help or Hurt?

Would hedges planted on the Interstate highways in Iowa reduce head-on collisions during the winter months? On January 25, 2010 at 2:10 pm we had a crash on I-80 in Iowa County. A van being driven by J. Jones was heading west and began sliding out of control. It slide right across the median strip and collided with a semi-truck being driven by Blair Hall of Brooklyn, Iowa. Poor Mr. Jones died in the ensuing collision. It got me wondering about how to stop cars from sliding clear across the median; and the first thing that comes to mind is planting a hedge. They are inexpensive, easy to maintain and would probably allow a car or van to slow or stop after striking it. A hedge would be better than a concrete barrier. The hedge wouldn’t cause an alternative major crash.