Three people were injured in a head-on collision west of Dyersville on Wednesday morning.
It happened a few minutes before 7 am in the westbound lanes between X-47 North and X-47 South about three miles west of town.
The Iowa State Patrol says 22-year old Jacob Ahlers of Greeley was eastbound on Highway 20 when his SUV went off on the right shoulder. He overcorrected to the left shoulder and eventually got back on the roadway before crossing the median and striking a westbound minivan head-on. Both vehicles ended up in the north ditch, with the SUV coming to rest on its roof. Authorities say no one was ejected from their vehicle, but all three people involved in the accident were seriously injured.
Ahlers was transported to Regional Medical Center in Manchester and later transferred to University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics in Iowa City by ground ambulance.
The Iowa State Patrol says the driver of the minivan, 22-year old Jamie Weekley of Worthington, and her passenger, 1-year old Carter Shepard of Worthington, were also injured. Weekley was transported to Mercy One in Dyersville and eventually airlifted to University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics in Iowa City. Shepard was transported to Mercy One in Dubuque and then airlifted to University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics in Iowa City. Their current conditions are not known.
A woman who was among the first people at the accident scene tells KMCH there were several heroes who stopped to help the victims before emergency personnel arrived, including a construction crew and a semi driver.
A number of agencies responded to the accident scene, including the Delaware County Sheriff’s Office, Dubuque County Sheriff’s Office, Iowa DOT, Dyersville Police Department, Manchester Ambulance, Farley Ambulance, Dyersville Ambulance and Auto-Tech.
Traffic was slowed down in the westbound lanes of Highway 20 on Wednesday morning while emergency crews worked at the scene.
The accident remains under investigation.
photo courtesy of Sarah Booth
