I-80 crash victim, 14, had big plans for life

The Williamsburg 14year-old killed in a Tuesday crash on Interstate 80 was a strong student who played volleyball and soccer and wanted to be a veterinarian.

Melissa Street, an eighth grader at Williamsburg Junior-Senior High School, died when a pickup rear-ended the van in which she was riding in the eastbound lanes of Interstate 80 near Oxford.

Michael Street, her 18year-old brother, also was injured in the accident.

He said his sister was funny and outgoing, and she loved animals and music.

“She thought she wanted to be a vet,” he said.

“She liked to pick on me.” Michael and Melissa Street and their mother, Karen Dye, 52, of Williamsburg, were traveling to Iowa City for an appointment, Michael Street said. Dye was driving the family van, the Iowa State Patrol said.

They came upon a rollover accident near the Oxford interchange, where a Johnson County Sheriff's squad car was parked on the left shoulder with lights flashing.

The Street van and another vehicle stopped, but a pickup driven by Jorge A. Ortiz, 43, of Washing ton, Iowa, did not. The pickup slammed into the back of the van, patrol said. Ortiz was injured and taken by ambulance to University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics in Iowa City.

Dye and Michael Street also were taken to the Iowa City hospital, patrol said, but have since been released. The crash pushed the van into a pickup driven by Dan M.

Earhart, 59, of Solon, but he was not hurt.

Troopers said the accident that led to the slowdown happened when a car hit an icy spot and rolled onto its top in the median. A 17-year-old suffered minor injuries in the accident; that person's name was not released.

Counselors were available for students at Street's Williamsburg school on Wednesday and will be for the rest of the week, said Matt Degner, the junior high principal.

“She was a nice girl, lots of friends, outgoing,” Degner said. “. . . Our thoughts are with the family, and we know it's a difficult time for them.” Jeff Raasch contributed to this report.