Iowa DOT to review crash history at Benton County intersection

BENTON COUNTY — The state Department of Transportation is looking into the intersection that was the scene of a crash that killed five people on April 9.

The review comes at the request of state Representative Dawn Pettengill, R-Mount Auburn, whose district includes Vinton and Urbana. Those towns were home to all five people who died when a pickup hit a semi at the intersection of Highway 150 and 55th Street north of Vinton.

In a letter to Paul Trombino, director of the Iowa DOT, Pettengill asked his agency 'to review and implement additional safety measures' at the scene of the crash.

'I do not have a history of accidents at this location, but many times when driving through have thought there were not enough indicators to notify a driver they will be driving onto the highway,' Pettengill wrote.

The deaths of the five, all between 12 and 20 years old, hit the towns — and school districts where the five attended — hard.

'Our thoughts and prayers go out to all involved,' Trombino wrote in his response to Pettengill, adding he asked Steve Gent, the head of the DOT's Office of Traffic and Safety, for a review of the crash and the history of incidents at that intersection.

Trombino said he would follow up with Pettengill after the review was complete.

On Friday, the Iowa State Patrol said the crash was still under investigation.