116 3rd St SE
Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401
Farmer won't be cited in Highway 20 pileups
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - The Iowa Department of Natural Resources has decided not to cite a Hamilton County farmer whose burning hay produced black smoke that mingled with fog, limiting visibility and helping to cause a chain-reaction crash on U.S. Highway 20.
DNR spokesman Kevin Baskins says officials decided Tuesday they would not cite farmer Mark Hild because it was unclear how much visibility on Monday morning was reduced by smoke and how much by fog.
Officials came to that decision after initially saying they would cite Hild.
Nine people were injured in Monday's pileups near Webster City.
A message left at a telephone listing for Hild was not returned Tuesday.
Crushed vehicles and semi-trailers sit on Highway 20, Monday, March 5, 2012, after chain-reaction collisions occurred involving nearly two-dozen vehicles near Webster City, Iowa. Authorities are blaming the pileups on poor visibility due to fog and thick, black smoke billowing from burning hay bales nearby. Eight people were hospitalized, two are reportedly in serious condition. (AP Photo/The Messenger, Jessie Helling)
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