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7 die over Thanksgiving holiday period on Iowa roads
State’s 315 traffic deaths so far this year surpass 5-year average
A wrecked Iowa State Patrol car sits on display during a news conference June 8, 2021, announcing the Iowa Traffic Fatality Reduction Task Force at the Iowa Capitol Building in Des Moines. Still, Iowa saw 356 traffic deaths that year -- well above average. (Bryon Houlgrave/Des Moines Register via AP)
Seven people died in six crashes on Iowa roads over the Thanksgiving holiday period, according to the Iowa Department of Public Safety.
As of Monday, 315 people have died this year in traffic wrecks on the state’s roads — surpassing the five-year average of 300 traffic deaths by this same date each year, despite efforts to crack down on distracted driving and excessive speeding.
Iowa saw 356 traffic deaths in all of 2021, state figures show. The state hasn’t had more than 37 traffic fatalities in a December in the last five years, a trend that suggests Iowa would not exceed last year’s grim total with another month to go this year.
Fatalities since Thanksgiving, according to the Public Safety Department:
- Richard Leth, 75 of Hartley, died early Thursday when his GMC Sierra pickup crossed the centerline on Highway 4 in Pocahontas County and collided with a Mack semi-trailer truck. The semi driver was not injured.
- A 15-year-old driver with two juvenile passengers swerved to miss a deer Friday evening in Ringgold County. The Chevrolet Trailblazer went into a ditch and rolled over, pinning the driver. Driver Abbi Overholser of Benton was taken to the Ringgold County Hospital and declared dead. A report does not say if the passengers suffered any injuries.
- A 53-year-old truck driver from Las Vegas, Terrence Glenn Allen, was killed early Saturday morning when his Volvo semi-trailer truck hit a bridge pillar on an exit from westbound Interstate 80 in Cass County.
- Two people were killed Saturday afternoon when the Chrysler they were in lost control for unknown reasons on Highway 34 in Henry County, crossed in front of oncoming traffic and hit a parked truck in a ditch. Shaun M. Reid, 48, and Sherry L. Reid, both of Stockport, were killed. Three others in the car were injured.
The Public Safety Department said there also were traffic fatalities over the holiday weekend in Emmet and Scott counties, but had not yet provided details.
