CLEAR LAKE – A Garner woman is dead and two other drivers were critically injured after a head-on collision in Clear Lake Friday afternoon.
According to the Iowa State Patrol, the accident took place on Friday, April 21, 2023. At about 12:30 PM that day on Highway 18 and Four Winds Drive in Clear Lake, a 2012 Chrysler Town & Country driven by 65-year-old Diane Lynn Schmidt of Garner was westbound on Highway 18. The van crossed the center line at Four Winds Drive and sideswiped a 2012 Ford Edge driven by 61-year-old Dennis Lee Ostrem of Garner. The van then struck head-on a 2016 Nissan Frontier driven by 60-year-old Tom Jay Richardson of Garner.
As a result of the collisions, Diane Lynn Schmidt was killed. All vehicles came to a rest on the south portion of the highway and the other drivers were in critical condition and transported to Mercyone Hospital in Mason City.
The crash remains under investigation by the Iowa State Patrol. Clear lake police, fire dept, EMS, and Lake Towing
all assisted.