60-year-old West Branch man injured in chain reaction crash on Interstate 80 near West Branch

A West Branch man was hospitalized for his injuries and traffic was blocked for hours after a chain reaction crash near West Branch.

Iowa State Patrol crash report states:

At roughly 12:13 p.m., Leif J. McGowan, 60, of West Branch was traveling west on Interstate 80, between exits 259 and 249, when he collided with another vehicle, causing the debris from that vehicle to hit a third vehicle.

McGowan, who was wearing his seatbelt at the time of the accident, was transported by ambulance to the hospital.

In the meantime,

westbound Interstate 80 east of the West Branch area was blocked much of the afternoon due to the crash. The wreckage was finally sufficiently cleared by 3:30 p.m. to allow normal traffic to resume.

The Iowa Department of Transportation was encouraging motorists to take a detour south to West Liberty, then west to Iowa City on Highway 6 and north on Highway 218 to the Interstate 80 intersection at Coralville.