Investigators are looking into possible distracted driving after a deadly crash on Des Moines’ northeast side.Eleven-year-old Ian Venales died Tuesday night in the crash on I-80/35 near Northeast 14th Street.A tractor-trailer slammed into the back of the vehicle, killing the boy and injuring his father.The trouble began Tuesday when a motorcycle crashed just east of the East Mixmaster on Interstate 80. Traffic started to back up heading west on the interstate shortly after 5 p.m. Wes Breckenridge, a former Iowa law enforcement agent, was driving along when a car slammed into him. A split second earlier, a tractor-trailer slammed into the car that hit him.“I was struck from behind. Didn’t see it coming,” Breckenridge said.Iowa State Patrol Sgt. Alex Dinkla described what happened in the crash.“A semi came up at too fast a speed. Ended up colliding into the back of not one vehicle but pushing that vehicle into another vehicle. In essence, the center vehicle was kind of sandwiched between a car and a semi,” Dinkla said.“Realize how important it is to be focused on what you’re doing and not be distracted. As the traffic flow slows up or speeds up just be cognizant of that and be careful just, so we don’t have a tragedy like this happen,” Breckenridge said.The tractor-trailer driver is from Los Angeles and has not yet been charged in the incident.A GoFundMe has been created to support the Venales-Tapia family. It can be found here.
Investigators are looking into possible distracted driving after a deadly crash on Des Moines’ northeast side.
Eleven-year-old Ian Venales died Tuesday night in the crash on I-80/35 near Northeast 14th Street.
A tractor-trailer slammed into the back of the vehicle, killing the boy and injuring his father.
The trouble began Tuesday when a motorcycle crashed just east of the East Mixmaster on Interstate 80. Traffic started to back up heading west on the interstate shortly after 5 p.m.
Wes Breckenridge, a former Iowa law enforcement agent, was driving along when a car slammed into him. A split second earlier, a tractor-trailer slammed into the car that hit him.
“I was struck from behind. Didn’t see it coming,” Breckenridge said.
Iowa State Patrol Sgt. Alex Dinkla described what happened in the crash.
“A semi came up at too fast a speed. Ended up colliding into the back of not one vehicle but pushing that vehicle into another vehicle. In essence, the center vehicle was kind of sandwiched between a car and a semi,” Dinkla said.
“Realize how important it is to be focused on what you’re doing and not be distracted. As the traffic flow slows up or speeds up just be cognizant of that and be careful just, so we don’t have a tragedy like this happen,” Breckenridge said.
The tractor-trailer driver is from Los Angeles and has not yet been charged in the incident.
A GoFundMe has been created to support the Venales-Tapia family. It can be found here.
