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Crashes in Delaware, Jones counties kill two
Man in UTV failed to yield at stop sign, Iowa State Patrol reported
Erin Jordan
Apr. 29, 2024 10:06 am, Updated: Apr. 29, 2024 4:23 pm
The Iowa State Patrol has identified two men killed in crashes in recent days in Eastern Iowa.
Kyle J. Kelchen, 39, of Manchester, died Friday afternoon when his utility-terrain vehicle was struck by a pickup truck, the patrol said.
Kelchen was driving south on 190th Avenue, east of Ryan in Delaware County, about 2:15 p.m. Friday when he failed to obey a stop sign at 310th Street, the patrol reported. Gerald J. Beitz, 67, and Susan E. Beitz, 65, of Monticello, were driving east on 310th and struck Kelchen’s UTV when he failed to yield.
Both vehicles came to rest in a ditch southeast of the intersection. Kelchen, who was not wearing a seat belt, was transported to the hospital but later died, the patrol reported. The Beitzes had minor injuries.
Another crash — Saturday northwest of Olin in Jones County — killed Maurice V. Hennessey, 96, of Ryan.
Evidence on the road indicated Hennessey’s 2000 Ford Focus wagon was traveling west on Newport Road on the wrong side before running off the road into the ditch and striking a road sign, the patrol reported. The car then recrossed the road and hit a tree on the right side of Newport Road, where the car burst into flames.
When firefighters responded to the blaze, they found Hennessey in the vehicle.
The patrol continues to investigate both crashes.
Comments: (319) 339-3157; erin.jordan@thegazette.com