Hwy. 100 reopened after crash; two seriously hurt

CEDAR RAPIDS – Two elderly women suffered serious injuries in a collision at a busy interchange Tuesday in Cedar Rapids.

Police said a car and a sport-utility vehicle collided around 10:30 a.m. where the eastbound lanes of Highway 100 and the ramp to southbound Interstate 380 intersect. Both roadways were blocked for more than an hour while police investigated.

Sgt. Michael Wallerstedt said the two injured women were in the car that hit the SUV and then struck a traffic signal pole head-on. Both women were taken by ambulance to St. Luke's Hospital, and the passenger was later transferred to the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics in Iowa City, police said.

The names of the injured women were not immediately released. Wallerstedt said they were conscious at the scene of the accident, but more detailed information about their conditions was not available.

The driver of the SUV declined medical attention, police said. Airbags deployed in both vehicles, and there was damage to the windshield on the passenger's side of the car.

Wallerstedt said preliminary investigation shows the car was southbound on the ramp and the SUV was eastbound on Highway 100. The intersection has traffic signals. Police were still determining who possibly ran the red light.

“There's a couple witnesses that we need to talk to before we confirm that,” he said.