Manchester Driver Causes Three-Vehicle Accident on Highway 30

A Manchester driver caused a three-vehicle accident on Highway 30 in Linn County on Monday afternoon.

Linn County Sheriff’s Deputies and Sheriff’s Rescue, Iowa State Patrol and Atkins Fire Department and Area Ambulance responded to the crash shortly after 3 pm. 

The Linn County Sheriff’s Office says an investigation at the scene of the crash, along with witness statements, indicated that a gray 2014 Ford Fusion driven by 30-year old Jesse Wolfe of Manchester was eastbound on Highway 30 and moving at a high rate of speed. Wolfe attempted to split two other eastbound vehicles – sideswiping a Ford Escape and then hitting a Chevy Sonic. 

The Ford Escape was able to get off the traveled portion of the highway and onto the shoulder. But both Wolfe’s vehicle and the Chevy Sonic crossed through the middle median, causing another collision with westbound traffic. The Chevy Sonic came to rest in the outside lane of westbound Highway 30 and the Ford Fusion entered the north ditch, going through a fence and traveling almost another six hundred feet – coming to rest before entering a creek. 

Wolfe and the driver of the Chevy Sonic, 56-year old Kristina Kies of Cedar Rapids, suffered minor injuries and were transported to local hospitals. The driver of the Ford Escape, 20-year old Natalie Schott of Iowa City, was not hurt. 

The accident remains under investigation.