LAKOTA — Two Northern Iowa boys were seriously injured Tuesday afternoon when their car collided with a freight train and burst into flames just feet from railcars carrying ethanol, authorities said.
The crash happened at approximately 3:53 p.m. July 14, 2026, at the Union Pacific Railroad crossing on 190th Avenue, about one-quarter mile south of Iowa Highway 9 on the northeast edge of Lakota.
According to the Kossuth County Sheriff’s Office, a 2004 Chevrolet Impala carrying a 16-year-old driver and a 12-year-old passenger was traveling south on 190th Avenue when it struck an eastbound Union Pacific train at the rural gravel-road crossing.
Both boys are from the Lakota-Buffalo Center area.
The force of the collision pushed the car a short distance east of the crossing. The train immediately initiated an emergency stop.
A passing motorist, Alex Horak of Lakota, witnessed the collision from Highway 9 and immediately called 911.
Within about a minute, Horak saw the damaged Chevrolet catch fire while both boys remained trapped inside. He rushed to the vehicle and pulled the teenagers to safety before the car became fully engulfed in flames.
The burning car came to rest only a few feet from railcars loaded with ethanol, creating an especially dangerous situation for the victims, rescuer and emergency crews.
Firefighters from Swea City, Ledyard and Lakota responded as part of the Highway 9 Fire organization and extinguished the blaze.
Kossuth County Emergency Medical Services and Lakota EMS treated the injured boys at the scene. Air medical helicopters from Waterloo and Des Moines were also dispatched.
The 16-year-old driver was flown directly to Rochester, Minnesota.
The 12-year-old passenger was taken by Lakota EMS to the Kossuth Regional Health Center helicopter landing area in Algona and was then flown to Rochester.
Both boys suffered head and upper-body injuries and were being treated at Mayo Clinic Hospital — Saint Marys Campus in Rochester.
The Kossuth County Sheriff’s Office was assisted by Kossuth County Emergency Management, Kossuth County EMS, Lakota EMS, Union Pacific employees, the Swea City, Ledyard and Lakota fire departments, and air medical crews from Waterloo and Des Moines.
The crash remains under investigation.