5 die in Iowa crashes over July 4 holiday

Five people died from crashes in Iowa — including a double fatal car collision in Linn County — during the July 4 holiday period that went from Wednesday evening to Monday morning, according to a report from the Iowa Department of Transportation.

The five deaths bring the total traffic fatalities in the state so far this year to 142, down from the 175 deaths the state saw at this point last year.

The Linn County crash happened about 1 p.m. Sunday at the intersection of Highway 13 and Blaine’s Crossing Road in Bertram, according to a news release from the Linn County Sheriff’s Office.

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2 dead in collision on Highway 13 in Linn County

A Nissan Rogue collided with a Chevrolet Cruze when the Cruze entered Highway 13 from Blaine’s Crossing without yielding, the Sheriff’s Office said. The driver and passenger of the Cruze — who were identified Monday as Charles Layton, 65, and Carol Mart, 77, both of Cedar Rapids — were pronounced dead on the scene.

The driver and sole occupant of the Nissan Rogue was unharmed, the release states.

In a separate fatality involving a utility terrain vehicle, a crash happened about 7:45 p.m. Saturday in Cedar County. According to an Iowa State Patrol report, a 2022 Polaris UTV was traveling south on Cedar Valley Road, just outside of Tipton, when it was hit by a 2008 Mazda CX-9 that was traveling north and crossed the centerline.

The driver of the UTV, Thomas Brown, 63, and his wife and passenger, Diana Brown, 58, both of West Liberty, were transported to the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, where Thomas Brown died.

The driver of the Mazda, Thomas Carmack, 60, of Tipton, also was injured and transported to the UI Hospitals, according to the report.

Thomas and Diana Brown were high school sweethearts who were going to celebrate their 40th wedding anniversary next month, according to their daughter, Jessica Schroeder.

Thomas Brown spent a lot of his time working on his farm, which has been in the family since Iowa became a state, and relaxing with his family. He loved going for rides with his wife and other friends on their UTV, and he traveled regularly.

Schroeder said she has a lot of memories of going biking with her dad on different occasions. He recently started doing an annual Father’s Day bike ride with Schroeder and her children.

“His greatest joy are his grandchildren. I don’t even know if it’s me, I think it’s his grandchildren. He loved them so much,” Schroeder said. “We were just a really close family unit, and did a lot together.”

Schroeder was on vacation with her family in South Dakota when the crash happened Saturday. She got a notification from her mother’s Apple Watch stating that it had detected a crash. She called her mom and was able to talk with her a bit before her mother had to see the paramedics who had arrived.

After being taken to the hospital, Diana went in for surgery immediately because of internal bleeding. After the surgery, she called Schroeder to let her know that Thomas had died from heart problems caused by the crash.

Diana still was in the intensive care unit at the hospital, but is beginning recovery, Schroeder said.

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