Crash totals three cars in Kalona

KALONA — A three-car collision in Kalona Monday morning totaled every vehicle involved, hospitalized one driver and temporarily blocked a road, according to police documents.

An officer’s preliminary accident report on the crash said it happened around 11:40 a.m. Feb. 17, at the intersection of West H Avenue and Highway 1, right in front of the Dollar General.

The document said Kalona man Samuel Eicher had looked down to answer a phone call while driving behind another car headed north on Highway 1, which was about to turn left onto West H Avenue. Eicher’s car hit the other, pushing it into the southbound lane where it collided with a third vehicle.

That crash knocked the northbound car into the middle of H Avenue where it blocked traffic, while the other vehicle came to rest in ditch to the southwest. Eicher’s vehicle, meanwhile, “proceeded northbound on Highway 1 a short distance and (came) to a rest on the east shoulder,” according to the report.

The other northbound driver was transported the University of Iowa’s main campus hospital via a Washington County Ambulance, arriving just before 12:30 p.m., according to a county Call For Service log. The accident report said both of the other drivers involved refused medical transport.

All three vehicles were eventually towed by Bulltown Towing, said the accident report, which added that Eicher was be charged with failing to stop at a clear distance, and using an electronic communication device behind the wheel, as a result of the accident.

Comments: Kalen.McCain@southeastiowaunion.com