Second set of charges filed for Keokuk Co. hayrack crash

KEOTA — A second group of plaintiffs has filed civil charges against Daniel Brubaker, the driver of a hayrack ride that crashed in rural Keokuk County in October, hospitalizing multiple middle school-aged children when a goose neck trailer “flung (them) into the road,” according to plaintiffs.

The new charges were filed by the Snakenberg family on behalf of a 13-year-old girl identified by the initials E.S. In a petition filed April 5, family members said E.S. “was thrown from the trailer onto the ground and subsequently ran over by the trailer” during the accident, and “suffered numerous injuries as a result.”

The petition accuses Brubaker of negligence, and said he may have been intoxicated at the time of the crash.

Similar charges from the family of a 12-year-old identified as E.M., were filed in October, but also made accusations against organizers of the party where the hayride took place.

The newer petition did not charge those adults, but did charge Grinnell Select Insurance Company, which the Snakenbergs say has not paid its share for E.S.’s injuries as required by their coverage plan.

In a response to the E.S. petition, Brubaker said the trailer was operated by him and registered with his vehicle, but denied most of the family’s allegations. He asked the court to dismiss the charges, saying the accident wasn’t his fault.

“This Defendant may be legally excused from any alleged negligence due to conditions over which he had no control, or when confronted with a sudden emergency not of his own making,” he said.

Grinnell Insurance denied the Snakenbergs’ charges as well, according to court records filed on April 19. The company said plaintiffs had failed to establish all of the “required proof” to warrant an insurance payout.

Comments: Kalen.McCain@southeastiowaunion.com