INDEPENDENCE – A Northern Iowa man who lost control of his Jeep Wrangler and put it into a roadside timber area on Christmas Eve was later convicted of operating while under the influence, marking another OWI conviction on his Iowa court record.
According to the Buchanan County Sheriff’s Office, deputies responded at approximately 8:10 p.m. on Wednesday, December 24, 2025, to a report of a motor vehicle accident in the 1700 block of Golf Course Boulevard.
Investigators said a 2018 Jeep Wrangler operated by Arthur Charles Lathan of Independence was traveling northbound on Golf Course Boulevard when Lathan failed to negotiate a westward curve in the roadway and lost control.
The Jeep entered the north ditch while in the curve and came to rest in a roadside timber area (see top photo of crash scene).
Lathan was transported to Buchanan County Health Center in Independence with non-life-threatening injuries. The sheriff’s office said at the time that the crash remained under investigation and charges were pending.
Court records show Lathan was charged in Buchanan County with operating while under the influence, first offense, a serious misdemeanor. The offense date listed in court records is December 24, 2025.
Lathan later pleaded guilty through a negotiated or voluntary plea on April 2, 2026. He was sentenced by Judge Alan Thomas Heavens to 90 days in jail, with 86 days suspended, and placed on one year of probation. He was also fined $1,250, with court records noting that half of the fine could be waived if a temporary restricted license was filed. He owes Iowa courts a total of $1,537.50.
Court records also show Lathan had a previous OWI conviction in Black Hawk County. In that case, State of Iowa vs. Arthur Charles Lathan, he was charged with operating while under the influence, first offense, a serious misdemeanor, with an offense date of January 30, 2013.
Lathan pleaded guilty in that case on March 12, 2013. He was sentenced on May 17, 2013, to 365 days in jail, with 357 days suspended, and was placed on two years of probation. Court records also show he was fined $1,250 and received credit for eight days served.
That 2013 case left Lathan owing $1,979 to Iowa courts, according to court records.
The Buchanan County Sheriff’s Office was assisted at the crash scene by the Independence Fire Department and AMR Ambulance.
(TOP PHOTO via sheriff’s office.)