More troopers may be added to patrol deadly stretch of I-80

The Iowa State Patrol is considering more troopers along a 20-mile stretch of Interstate 80 in Jasper County where eight people died and eight others were injured in a string of accidents over a 10-day period.

In each of the three wrecks, the driver lost control and crossed the median, colliding with head-on traffic.

The accidents have prompted the Iowa transportation department to consider moving up the installation of cable median barriers on this stretch of I-80. The work had been unofficially planned for 2012.

The latest fatality occurred Monday near Newton. The other accidents happened Aug. 14 between Colfax and Newton and Aug. 15 near Grinnell.

Senior transportation engineer Troy Jerman says the department is looking at whether the crashes happened randomly or were part of a deadly pattern.