CEDAR RAPIDS — A 71-year-old man suffered “life-threatening injuries” Tuesday afternoon in a collision on Collins Road involving multiple vehicles, police said.
The pileup, near the road’s intersection with Council Street NE, happened just before 4:30 p.m.
The injured driver, who was not identified, had to be extricated from a vehicle and was then flown by Lifeguard helicopter to University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics in Iowa City.
Two other drivers were transported to area hospitals for treatment of non-life threatening injuries.
Few details have been released regarding that cause of the pileup.
Public safety spokesperson Greg Buelow told The Gazette Wednesday morning that the preliminary investigation indicates the 71-year-old man was driving a Kia eastbound on Collins Road “at a high rate of speed” and collided with the rear passenger side of vehicle that was stopped at Collins Road and Council Street.
The impact, Buelow said, pushed the second vehicle into two others that were also stopped at the intersection.
The crash closed Collins Road in both directions for several hours as police investigated.
Buelow said the incident in still under investigation.