Former Keokuk County deputy convicted of child endangerment for hayrack crash

WHAT CHEER – A former Keokuk County Sheriff’s Deputy has been convicted of 13 counts of child endangerment related to a hayrack ride two years ago that injured more than a dozen children.

Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird announced that her office had secured a conviction of David Heady on Tuesday, Sept. 2. Heady, a former Keokuk County Sheriff’s Deputy, was a passenger in a truck driven by Daniel Brubaker pulling a hayrack with 30 children in October 2023 when it crashed east of What Cheer.

“[Heady] and the driver, Daniel Brubaker, had both been drinking heavily before the ride and were drinking while driving the truck,” Bird stated in a news release issued Thursday, Sept. 4. “Brubaker lost control of the truck and drove it into a ditch, injuring more than a dozen children.”

Brubaker pleaded guilty to 13 counts of child endangerment in July.

“This situation is truly heartbreaking,” Bird continued. “Two adults, including a sheriff’s deputy, who should have protected these children instead caused extreme trauma and pain because they recklessly chose to drink and drive. These children and their families will never be the same.”

The lawsuit against Heady and Brubaker was filed by Amy Stewart and Bronson McCulley, who said their then 12-year-old daughter, identified as “E.M.” in court documents, was left with “life-altering” injuries from the incident.

Grant Woodard, an attorney for Stewart and McCulley, said the impact on the family was substantial.

“My client and family have gone through a lot over the past two and half weeks — nothing any child should have to go through,” he said in an email to The Union in November 2023. “She and her family are focused on her healing and the multitude of struggles ahead. We look forward to holding accountable those who caused these injuries and pain.”

Bird concluded her news release with the remark, “Let it be a warning that when you selfishly break the law and endanger a child’s life you will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”

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Call Andy Hallman at 641-575-0135 or email him at andy.hallman@southeastiowaunion.com