RURAL POWESHIEK COUNTY, IOWA – An Iowa man was killed as he drove his Pontiac Bonneville along a lonely stretch of rural highway and a wrong-way driver slammed into him head-on.
According to the Iowa State Patrol, the accident took place on June 23, 2025, in Poweshiek county, Iowa. At about 7:40 AM that morning, 70-year-old James “Jim” John Jacobi of Belle Plaine, Iowa, was traveling southbound on Highway V18, north of 460th Avenue. At this location, 37-year-old Joshua Allen Klein of Brooklyn, Iowa, was driving his 2011 Hyundai Sonata northbound, when he crossed the center line and struck the Bonneville head-on. Jacobi’s attempt to avoid a crash was unsuccessful, and impact was made on both vehicles at the front driver’s side areas.
As a result of the collision, the Bonneville came to rest in the west ditch and the Hyundai spun around into the north travel lane facing south. Jacobi was killed, and he was transported to Holland Coble Funeral Home.
According to an obituary, Mr. Jacobi was “a proud graduate of Belle Plaine High School, class of 1973, he started farming beside his dad before settling into a long and meaningful career at Funks Seed as a seed technician. He spent 37 years there.” He leaves behind a wife and three children.