Almost three days after the incident, the Iowa State Patrol has released a redacted version of the report on a two-car accident Monday afternoon involving a Dallas County Deputy Sheriff and two Van Meter senior citizens.
Dallas County Sheriff Chad Leonard commented briefly Thursday on the incident and the slow release of about it.
“When we turn it over to other agencies, we let them do the press release on it,” Leonard said. “It’s our policy, since we’re involved in it, to not investigate it, obviously. It’s their accident. We’re involved in it, but all we’re going to say is that, yes, our vehicle was involved in a traffic accident, and the state patrol is investigating it.”
Sgt. Nathan Ludwig, public information officer with the Iowa State Patrol, released the public version of the accident summary at 9 a.m. Thursday morning. The report was completed by Trooper Tracy Bohlen of the Iowa State Patrol, who arrived on the scene about 2:30 p.m. Monday at U.S. Highway 169 near Timberview Drive on Adel’s south side.
According to Bohlen’s report, Dallas County Deputy Sheriff Jody Delos Davis, 33, was southbound on U.S. Highway 169, climbing the sloping road as it rises from about the 800 block of Nile Kinnick Drive South and crests near Timberview Drive.
As Davis approached the crest, he discovered “two vehicles were stopped on U.S. Highway 169 and were waiting for northbound traffic to clear to make a left turn on Timberview Drive,” the report said.
Davis was “unable to come to a safe stop,” the report said. In order to avoid striking the stopped southbound vehicle from the rear, Davis “swerved into the northbound lane of U.S. Highway 169” and into the path of a northbound vehicle driven by Deanna Mae Buel, 75, of Van Meter.
Buel’s vehicle, a 1997 Dodge Intrepid, struck the rear passenger side of the Dallas County Deputy Sheriff’s patrol vehicle, a 2014 Dodge Charger. The deputy sheriff’s vehicle came to rest in the ditch on the east side of U.S. Highway 169.
Davis, Buel and a passenger in Buel’s vehicle, Curtis Bruns, 82, of Van Meter, were treated for minor injuries at Mercy Medical Center-West Lakes and released. Damage to the county vehicle was estimated at $5,000 and damage to Buel’s at $3,000.
No citations have been issued in the incident.
“We’re just grateful,” said Sheriff Leonard Thursday, “that she (Buel) wasn’t hurt real bad and grateful that the deputy wasn’t hurt real bad either, but they’re both going to be stiff. The key word is accident. Nobody intended for this to happen.”
