SIOUX COUNTY — Two Iowa men were killed early Thursday morning in a violent three-vehicle crash on a remote Highway after one driver attempted to pass another vehicle in dense fog and collided head-on with an oncoming car, according to the Iowa State Patrol.
The crash happened at approximately 5:49 a.m. on Thursday, August 6, 2026, on Highway 10 near Hickory Avenue in Sioux County.
Investigators said a 2018 Dodge Charger driven by Lazaro Misael Martin Martin, 19, of Orange City, was traveling westbound on Highway 10.
At the same time, a 2006 Chevrolet Impala driven by Jeffrey Lee Lahr, 53, of Westfield, was traveling eastbound.
The State Patrol said Martin Martin attempted to pass an uninvolved vehicle and entered the eastbound lanes, where the Charger struck Lahr’s Impala head-on.
The rear of the Charger then struck the driver’s side door of a westbound 2020 Kenworth driven by Denis Duane Mattheis, 39, of Paulina, as the truck was passing the crash scene.
The Charger became fully engulfed in flames.
Martin Martin and Lahr were both pronounced dead at the scene.
Mattheis was not injured.
Dense fog was present at the time of the collision, according to the State Patrol.
The deadly crash comes as Iowa continues to see serious rural highway collisions. NIT previously reported that a Northern Iowa man was killed in May when his pickup crossed the center line and collided with a semi east of Estherville.
All three vehicles were removed from the scene by Stockton Towing.
The Iowa State Patrol investigated the crash with assistance from the Sioux County Sheriff’s Office and other emergency responders.
The crash remains under investigation.
The Iowa Department of Transportation’s most recent published fatality count is preliminary and can change as investigations are completed. The two deaths from this crash will be included in Iowa’s 2026 traffic fatality totals once formally recorded by the state.