CRIME & COURTS

State Patrol: High number of traffic deaths in Iowa slowing investigations

Charly Haley
chaley@dmreg.com

Months after her uncle was killed in a car crash on Interstate Highway 35, Samantha Bell is still looking for closure.

Shawn David Ballard, 51, of St. Charles died June 23 in a crash near the Highway 92 exit, about 17 miles south of the west mixmaster, according to the Iowa State Patrol.

Another vehicle rear-ended Ballard and pushed his car into oncoming traffic. Ballard's car then hit a semitrailer truck.

Bell has been upset that, months after the crash, the driver who rear-ended her uncle has not been charged or even ticketed.

"It's not just me waiting, it's our entire family. ... We want answers. We want to know. It's been very devastating," she said in a Sept. 19 phone interview with the Register.

Investigations into crashes like the one involving Ballard are taking longer than normal this year because of the unusually high number of fatal crashes that have occurred across the state, State Patrol spokesman Sgt. Nathan Ludwig said.

Shawn Ballard was killed June 23 in a car accident on Interstate Highway 35.

There had been 282 deaths from vehicle accidents in Iowa as of Monday. That's 37 more deaths than last year at that time, according to the Iowa Department of Transportation. It's the state's highest number of deaths from vehicle crashes through that date in five years.

The State Patrol has been assigned to investigate 125 of these cases this year, which is 24 more than a year ago, Ludwig said Monday.

Sixty cases are still open, with no determination of whether charges will be filed, he said. But 20 of those cases are near completion, just waiting a final review, he said.

The State Patrol does not have any full-time crash investigators — the troopers investigating these crashes also have other duties, Ludwig added.

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The increase in fatal crashes caught the attention of Gov. Terry Branstad earlier this year. The governor said in July that he wants to address cyclist and motorist deaths on Iowa roads as part of next year's state legislative priorities.

There are numerous factors that go into a crash investigation, especially when multiple vehicles are involved, like in the case with Ballard, Ludwig said.

For Bell and her family, waiting on results of the State Patrol's investigation has been excruciating.

"So many people are wanting justice for Shawn," Bell said. "It's very frightful."

Shawn Ballard, 51, of St. Charles died June 23 in a car crash on Interstate Highway 35, leaving behind two sons.

According to a State Patrol report, the crash with Ballard happened in a construction zone in which traffic was limited to one lane in each direction. Northbound and southbound traffic was not separated by a median.

Three people were injured in another head-on collision involving three vehicles at that same spot a month earlier.

Ballard's vehicle was slowing or stopped because of a wide-load vehicle farther down the road. The driver of the vehicle that struck Ballard from behind "was distracted at the time of the accident and failed to slow before colliding with (Ballard's vehicle)," according to the report. Both vehicles crossed into oncoming traffic, where Ballard's car hit the semitrailer.

The collision destroyed Ballard's vehicle, according to the report. Ballard was pronounced dead at the scene.

The 27-year-old driver of the other car was treated for minor injuries and released. The driver of the semi was not injured.

The State Patrol report does not specifically fault the driver of the car that rear-ended Ballard, but it states that neither Ballard nor the semi's driver made any improper actions leading up to the crash.

No one has been charged in the crash, which remains under investigation, Ludwig said.

Ballard worked for many years at the Iowa Communications Network. He was always smiling and full of life, his niece said.

"Shawn was much more than an average man," Bell said. "He left behind two young boys whose lives are completely altered, as well as two parents who are still grieving horribly, a brother who misses him terribly."