116 3rd St SE
Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401
Belle Plaine man killed in Poweshiek County crash

Jun. 19, 2025 2:47 pm, Updated: Jun. 19, 2025 4:18 pm
The Gazette offers audio versions of articles using Instaread. Some words may be mispronounced.
A Belle Plaine man died Thursday morning in a head-on collision in rural Poweshiek County, according to an Iowa State Patrol accident report.
James Jacobi, 70, was driving a 1992 Pontiac Bonneville south on Highway V18 when he was hit by a 2011 Hyundai Sonata coming the opposite direction at about 7:40 a.m. Thursday. The Hyundai — being driving by Joshua Klein, 37, of Brooklyn, IA — crossed the center line just north of the intersection between Highway V18 and 460th Ave in rural Poweshiek County.
Jacobi tried to move his car into the shoulder of the road to avoid getting hit when he saw the Hyundai cross the center line, but the two vehicles crashed head-on. Jacobi died in the crash. Klein was not injured.
The accident report does not state why Klein crossed to the wrong side of the road, but no charges have been filed as of Thursday afternoon.
Comments: (319) 398-8328; emily.andersen@thegazette.com