ROCKWELL — A Northern Iowa driver was trapped inside his SUV and suffered serious injuries after colliding head-on with a large piece of farm equipment on a rural Cerro Gordo County road Saturday night.
The collision happened at approximately 10:33 p.m. on August 22, 2026, near the intersection of 150th Street and Lark Avenue outside Rockwell.
The Cerro Gordo County Sheriff’s Office said 40-year-old David Laubenthal of Bancroft was driving a 2010 Dodge Ram 2500 west on 150th Street while towing an agricultural mower-conditioner.
As the pickup traveled through a bridge, the road shoulder narrowed and the mower-conditioner entered the eastbound lane, according to investigators.
At the same time, 37-year-old Christopher White of Rockwell was traveling east in a 2018 Nissan Rogue. White’s SUV struck the mower-conditioner head-on.
White became trapped inside the badly damaged Nissan and had to be mechanically extricated by members of the Rockwell Fire Department.
Mason City Fire Department medics transported White to MercyOne North Iowa Medical Center with serious injuries. His latest condition was not immediately released.
Laubenthal was not injured. Deputies cited him for failure to yield half of the roadway.
The collision came four days after another rural Cerro Gordo County crash left a driver injured after his minivan struck a horse standing in the roadway.
The Cerro Gordo County Sheriff’s Office investigated Saturday night’s crash. The Iowa State Patrol, Rockwell Fire Department, Rockwell-Swaledale EMS and Mason City Fire Department assisted at the scene.
Imagine that. Another farmer that thinks they own the entire road.