Iowa Personal Injury News for February 22, 2011. Pedestrian, collisions and house fires

There are several interesting stories out there including two hit-and-run collisions. The southbound ramp at Euclid and I-235 was closed on Feb. 18, 2011 due to a collision. Accident occurred at around 7:15 a.m. perhaps it was rush hour. How did that happen? And in Des Moines a man riding a bicycle with no reflector, dark clothing was struck by a Ford Crown Vic driven by a 56-year-old man. The cyclist was swiped from behind and taken to Mercy Children's Center on Saturday night. The cyclist wis James Mohler, 18. The man driving the car claimed to not have seen Mohler due to darkness and the failure of Mohler to use clothing and reflective tape to make him more visible after dark. I wonder if any check the driver's vision to see if it is impaired in any way. See Car strikes, injures nighttime bicyclist, Register.

Governor Branstad continues to defend being a double-dipper as the State of Iowa fights to control costs. His argument is that public service to him really isn't about sacrifice. He wants us to excuse his taking a $50k pension from the state of Iowa from when he was last in office and still allow him to get paid the Governor's salary of $.

"Listen, I've taken a significant financial sacrifice to run for this office," said Branstad, who was earning more than $400,000 annually as president of Des Moines University before seeking election last year.

There are a couple of hit and run accidents in the news. Link and Link. The one is in Urbandale and involves only property damage. The second is more serious and involves the death of what appears to be a pedestrian on Interstate 80 near Tiffin in eastern Iowa. The decedent is an 18-year-old man from Iowa City. For the reports it appears the man was struck twice; the second driver stopped and phoned police. He's been cleared. One has to wonder if the investigation is correct, and I'm not sure how you determine this, but if it is correct, what was a man doing walking on I-80 westbound? Was he walking? Or was his body dumped to make it look like he was a pedestrian? We'll have to keep an eye on how this story develops. Another man later came forward who believes he may have been the first driver. Police have some evidence that they say confirmed this man's car also struck the pedestrian. From this story the investigation has the young pedestrian being in another car, then getting out and beginning to walk; two other cars nearly struck him. The story details make this difficult to fully appreciate. See Driver comes forward in traffic fatality accident, Register news.

Fires seem to be in the news. We have one at Prairie Meadows causing $1million of damage to the contents of a shed (the Register's link is broken so follow this one) and several others. One fire was on Ovid Avenue in Des Moines and the other in Waterloo. The one in Waterloo sounds much more interesting. Here is how KGAN describes it: Police in Waterloo are investigating a house fire that preceded a chase which ended when a church bus crashed into a light pole. In Oelwein a feed plan explosion was blamed on lightning strike. Agricultural dust was the apparent combustible. The there is the wine truck that suddenly catches on fire as it's set on the side of an on-ramp to I-80. Two men escaped without injury.

And weather seems to be providing Biblical arguments for the world ending. Mount Auburn experienced flash flooding along the Cedar River and some folks had to be rescued from their homes. Of course the good folks in Fort Dodge have their own issues with flooding.

And in Ames a car accident claimed the life of a passenger. I covered this story last Saturday so we'll leave it at that.

State Patrol needs help in I-80 hit-run case

Feb 14, 2011 |  Tom Alex ... Traffic investigators need help in solving a fatal hit-and-run case that occurred shortly before midnight Saturday on Interstate Highway 80 near Tiffin in eastern ...

Urbandale woman charged in hit-and-run accident

Feb 18, 2011 |  Sara Sleyster ... Feb. 14 for failure to maintain control, striking a fixed object on a highway, and hit and run. Urbandale police responded to an accident that damaged a homeowner's fence ... 

Viewing a thread - Road condition,... I35 from KC to Ames, Iowa?
I35 from KC to Ames, Iowa? - Jacob Bolson : 2/11/2011 08:22; Re: Road condition, ... I35 from KC to Ames, Iowa? - MOcropfarmer : 2/11/2011 09:42 ...
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Crash Closes Lane I-35 SB in Worth County | Eastern Iowa News Now
By Iowa Department of Transportation
Crash Closes Lane I-35 SB in Worth County. Posted February 7, 2011 9:52 am by Iowa Department of Transportation. A crash involving a semi-trailer truck has reduced Interstate 35 southbound to a single lane north of Hanlontown, in Worth ...
Eastern Iowa News Now - http://www.easterniowanewsnow.com/

Truck Crashes Through Post Office, Traps Worker
KCCI Des Moines
LUTHER, Iowa -- A pickup truck crashed through the wall of the Luther Post Office on Thursday, leaving a postal worker inside with no way out. ...
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