Cedar Rapids man spent 18 minutes trapped beneath car in Walmart lot

CEDAR RAPIDS - For about 18 minutes, dispatch logs show, the car sat on Terrence Adams' throat in the Walmart parking lot.

Adams, 23, was hit from behind Tuesday afternoon as he walked away from the store at 2645 Blairs Ferry Rd. NE.

He was on life support last night at St. Luke's Hospital, neighbor Mary Dalton said after speaking with his mother. Friends and relatives had gathered in the store parking lot to pray for Adams.

Dalton said Adams, of 2047 North Towne Ct. NE, No. 5, is originally from Chicago and has lived here for five years. She said Adams is engaged to be married, with a young daughter and stepson and another baby on the way.

On Tuesday, until rescuers arrived, one of the car's front tires rested on Adams' neck as he lay motionless, a witness told KCRG-TV9.

Dispatchers received the report of the accident at 2:11 p.m., and Linn County Sheriff's Deputy Jim Dunn was on the scene two minutes later. More crews followed.

Cedar Rapids firefighters freed Adams from under the car around 2:29 p.m. by inflating a hard rubber balloon, Capt. Andy Olesen said. He was rushed to the hospital.

The car, driven by Dorothy Simanek, 85, of Walker, struck Adams near the store's west entrance, police said. Video surveillance shows the car dragged Adams, Police Sgt. Cristy Hamblin said.

No charges will be filed, police said. Because the accident happened on private property, Hamblin said the only possible charges would be drunken driving, driving on a suspended license or reckless driving.

Iowa law defines reckless driving as “in such manner as to indicate either a willful or a wanton disregard for the safety of persons or property.”

“Reckless driving is pretty specific,” Hamblin said. “You have to do something in a careless manner, and this was not careless.”

Hamblin said no tests were done to determine whether Simanek was impaired. She said officers did not see, hear or smell anything that would give them cause for such tests.

Police are likely to ask the Iowa Department of Transportation to re-evaluate Simanek for a driver's license, based on the seriousness of the crash, Hamblin said.

Simanek declined to comment Thursday.

At last night's prayer vigil, Dalton said Adams is passionate about music and enjoys sports and the outdoors. She said he is active with his children and is like an uncle to her own kids.

“We're trying to hope for a miracle,” she said.

The Gazette's Julie Koehn contributed to this report.