Names released in Springville crash involving car, school bus

SPRINGVILLE - A Dubuque woman injured in a crash with a school bus on Monday remains hospitalized with life-threatening injuries.

The Linn County Sheriff's Office identified 26-year-old Molly Zelinskas of Dubuque as the driver of the car involved in a crash with a school bus Monday afternoon.

The sheriff's office, Marion police and fire departments, Area Ambulance Service, Lifeguard Air Ambulance and the Iowa Department of Transportation responded to a crash with injuries on Dubuque Road just east of Stone Road around 3:41 p.m. Monday. There, authorities learned Zelinskas was eastbound in a passenger car on Dubuque Road when she rear-ended a school bus.

Zelinskas, the lone occupant of the vehicle, had to be extricated and was taken to St. Luke's Hospital with life-threatening injuries.

One of the six students on the bus was taken to Mercy Medical Center with non-life threatening injuries. The other five students and the bus driver, 42-year-old Cary Nelson, of Springville, were uninjured.

Nelson and Zelinskas were wearing their seat belts at the time of the crash, authorities said.

Col. John Stuelke, with the sheriff's office, said authorities are still trying to piece together what caused the crash. He said Zelinskas shouldn't have had trouble seeing the bus - which had its safety lights activated and stop sign extended - or having enough time to stop.

'Whether she was inattentive for some reason, we don't really know at this point,” he said.

Stuelke said authorities have found no fault with Nelson's actions. The bus was pulled over to stop off a student.

'It's not ideal, but state law does allow for a bus to stop on a divided highway and people are expected to obey the stop sign,” Stuelke said.

The crash remains under investigation by the sheriff's office and Marion Police Department.