Sledding crash turns fatal for Anamosa teen

An Anamosa teen who was struck by a vehicle after the sled he was riding shot into the street outside his home died last weekend, 10 days after the crash.

Adam McWherter, 13, was sledding with a friend Jan. 10 in his driveway in the 13000 block of Buffalo Road near Anamosa when he picked up speed and slid into the road, where was hit by a northbound 2008 GMC Envoy.

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He died Saturday from his injuries at the University of Iowa Stead Family Children’s Hospital, according to an obituary. A celebration of his life is scheduled Thursday at the Antioch Christian Church in Marion.

No one has been charged in the crash, which remains under investigation by the Iowa State Patrol.

As part of the investigation, troopers searched the sport utility vehicle involved in the crash, reenacted the scene and interviewed an 11-year-old boy who was sledding with Adam at the time, according to a search warrant affidavit.

The driver of the car, a 49-year-old Anamosa resident, told law enforcement the boy wasn’t visible until just before he entered the road. The driver hit the breaks as soon as Adam came into view, but was not able to stop in time, the driver told investigators.

As part of mapping the scene and in order to verify what the driver said about visibility, a Jones County sheriff’s deputy got on a sled and slid down the driveway, while a state trooper took a video from the road, sitting in a pickup patrol vehicle.

“The top of the deputy’s shoulders and head are the only things visible until he reached almost the end of the driveway. My point of view, 5.2 feet off the ground, was approximately 6 inches higher than the view of (the driver), 4.7 feet off the ground, likely would have been, as the pickup sat higher off the ground than the Envoy,” the search warrant affidavit reads.

The street where the crash happened was completely covered in snow and ice after that week’s heavy winter storm, the affidavit notes.

The 11-year-old told investigators that the pair had been sledding all day Jan. 9 and woke up early Jan. 10 to continue sledding. They had been sledding down the long driveway at Adam’s house, racing to a bump in the snow toward the bottom of the hill. They had decided not to go all the way to the road because they decided it was too dangerous, the boy said.

“They were kneeling on the sleds, leaning forward, and using their hands to steer and brake. The last time they went down the driveway, (the 11-year-old) got a head start, with McWherter, following close behind him. (The 11-year-old) reached the bump first and saw a car approaching,” the search warrant request states. “He jumped off his sled and tried to get McWherter’s attention. (The 11-year-old) did not think McWherter saw the car until McWherter made it to about 10-15 feet away from the end of the driveway, and put he put his hands down to stop.”

A GoFundMe page started on behalf of the family after the crash had raised $37,532 by Monday afternoon, exceeding its $30,000 goal. Adam’s mother, Amanda, wrote in an update shortly after the crash that he was placed on a ventilator at the hospital and was suffering from several broken bones as well as bleeding in his skull and lungs.

The Anamosa Wrestling club also is hosting a fundraiser to raffle off two half hogs donated by Lindley Locker, a meat shop in Center Junction. The raffle goes through Jan. 30 and also will benefit Lucas Sigglan, another Anamosa boy who was injured in a snowboarding mishap Jan. 9.

According to a GoFundMe page started on behalf of Lucas, the 15-year-old broke his neck during the incident and may not regain the ability to walk. The GoFundMe page had raised $12,970 as of Monday afternoon.

Sledding related accidents are fairly common in the United States, although they don’t usually result in death. A 2020 study conducted by researchers at the Center for Injury Research and Policy at Nationwide Children’s Hospital found that 220,488 patients were treated in U.S. emergency departments for injuries related to sledding from 2008 through 2017. Nearly 70 percent of them were children age 19 years and younger.

Last winter in Iowa, Milly Rose Zellmer, age 5, was killed in Pella when she was hit by a truck after sledding into the roadway.

Comments: (319) 398-8328; emily.andersen@thegazette.com