One man died late Sunday night when the vehicle he was driving struck a tree and was fully engulfed by fire near Iowa Highway 44 west of Grimes.
The accident occurred about 11:30 p.m. on W Avenue just south of 240th Street about two miles west of Grimes, according to public safety communications.
Dallas County Chief Deputy Sheriff Adam Infante said the Grimes Volunteer Fire Department and Dallas County Deputy Sheriffs were first on the scene and found the SUV “completely engulfed in flames.”
According to an Iowa State Patrol Sgt. Alex Dinkla, the vehicle was traveling southbound on W Avenue at “an extremely high rate of speed” when “it vaulted over Highway 44. When that vehicle landed back on W Avenue, the driver lost control and struck a tree in the west ditch. Ultimately, the vehicle caught fire.”
The driver was pronounced dead at the scene.
The accident remains under investigation by the Iowa State Patrol, Dinkla said. Identification of the driver will be made following an investigation by the state medical examiner’s office, he said.
A similar vehicle was involved in a high-spreed pursuit with the Polk County Sheriff’s office on Iowa Highway 141 into Granger that was terminated about eight minutes prior to the fiery crash west of Grimes. Radio traffic indicated speeds in the chase exceeded 110 mph.
“At this time we don’t know if they’re the exact vehicles,” Dinkla said. “That’s still being looked into.”
ThePerryNews.com will update this story as information becomes available.
