Iowa Personal Injury and Property Damage News of Interest for November 5, 2010

On Thursday, October 28, 2010 an accident on Highway 69 at 8:30 in the morning killed one person and injured 4 others after a southbound car crossed the center line and hit three other vehicles. Loren Goodwin, 63 of Indianola was killed, he was in the third vehicle that was hit head-on. The second car that was sideswiped apparently had several children in it and they were taken to the hospital along with their 33-year-old mother. (Norwalk residents)

So where do we start with determining the causes by investigating and trying to answer the questions that come to mind. First the driver coming across the median we wonder about his falling asleep, or having a heart attack or being drunk. We need to determine the most likely cause of his car crossing over to the wrong side of Highway 69. The news report has him hospitalized and in critical condition so he will not be answering questions. The blood work from the hospital may be helpful but unless it was taken for evidence it may not have been preserved properly and be inadmissible in court. He is a young man at 30-years of age.

We might look inside his car for things that tell us about where he'd been previous to the accident. If he had a cell phone it too may give an indication of conversations he was having at the time of the collision or people he'd recently spoken to that could lead us to testimony to answer where, why, when and how.

The car is scrap but provide evidence of speed and trajectory. An accident reconstruction expert may be necessary although whether it would be economically feasible will depend on how much insurance coverage is available to the injured and the one man that died in the collision. A video is available from KCCI.