Court records claim deception after hay rack ride crash

WHAT CHEER - Several documents were posted to Iowa Courts Online Nov. 13 detailing a search warrant issued after an October hay rack ride crash injured multiple middle school-aged children and led to negligence accusations against a driver and event planners in Keokuk County.

Court records show a state trooper seized the phone of former Keokuk County Deputy David Heady, one of the hay rack ride’s organizers, on Nov. 6, saying the device might reveal efforts to deceive law enforcement about the incident.

“(The phone) may have information about planning the event, the consumption of alcoholic beverages, the identity of the driver at the time of the accident, the conspiracy to mislead investigators about the circumstances of the crash ... and admissions about the crash or circumstances leading up to the crash demonstrating an awareness that the children were placed in danger,” read an affidavit from Mathias Robinson, an Iowa State Patrol officer who has investigated close to 40 “serious injury or fatal crashes.”

The warrant was based on information provided by police officers and a “confidential informant,” and authorized investigators to make a digital copy of the phone’s data, “to facilitate a forensic examination” of its content.

The affidavit offered other information about the crash as well. For one, it said Heady "was highly intoxicated“ when investigators arrived, and was sitting in the front passenger seat at the time of the hay rack ride’s crash. Driver Daniel Brubaker, however, was absent by the time first responders reached the scene, according to the document.

The warrant application claimed three of the 29 kids on the ride “suffered injuries and were transported for medical attention.” One of those was already publicly known: a 12-year-old girl called “E.M.” in court documents, whose parents sued Heady and Brubaker for negligence after the crash, which allegedly flung passengers into the road and left E.M. with “life-altering” injuries.

Court records show Brubaker, David Heady and Victoria Heady had all received a notice of those civil charges by early November, but otherwise that case’s docket contains no new information.

The search, warrant, however, says it seeks “evidence in a criminal prosecution or investigation,” suggesting that non-civil charges may be possible against those involved in the incident.

Comments: Kalen.McCain@southeastiowaunion.com