WEST UNION – A dusty rural roadway with poor visibility turned dangerous in Fayette County when a pickup truck carrying three juveniles slammed into the back of a livestock trailer loaded with pigs, leaving one young driver seriously injured.
The Fayette County Sheriff’s Office responded at approximately 9:29 a.m. on August 20 to the two-vehicle crash in the 12,000 block of 210th Street, about two miles southwest of West Union.
Investigators determined that 50-year-old Jose Alfredo Flores Lara of Mexico was driving a white 2017 Freightliner Cascadia and hauling pigs in a silver 2019 M.H. Eby trailer.
Authorities said dusty roadway conditions had created poor visibility.
Flores Lara was attempting to make a left turn when a red 2014 Ford F-150 driven by a juvenile struck the rear of the livestock trailer.
The teenage driver suffered serious injuries and was transported by Gundersen Ambulance to Gundersen Hospital in West Union.
Two additional juveniles riding in the Ford suffered minor injuries and were transported to the same hospital by Fayette Ambulance.
Flores Lara reported no injuries.
The Ford pickup was considered a total loss, while damage to the livestock trailer was estimated at approximately $10,000.
None of the pigs being transported were reported injured in the collision.
The wreck is another serious crash recently investigated by Fayette County authorities. Earlier this month, NIT reported on a three-vehicle crash near Oran that sent three people to the hospital and destroyed all of the vehicles involved.
The Fayette County Sheriff’s Office was assisted at the scene by the West Union Fire Department, Gundersen Ambulance, Fayette Ambulance, West Union Police Department, Iowa State Patrol and Iowa Department of Transportation.
The August 20 crash remains under investigation. Crash scene photos, below, via the sheriff’s office.
