The Iowa State Patrol said it is likely to forward an accident report to the Black Hawk County attorney’s office for a decision on possible traffic charges in a four-vehicle crash involving an Iowa State Patrol trooper.
The accident occurred near the University of Northern Iowa Dome at 3:55 p.m. on Nov. 11 during a sporting event, officials said. Trooper Jeremy Schaffer was distracted by a vehicle parked in the grass at the side of the road. When he looked back to the front, cars were stopping ahead of him.
An accident report says he did not have time to stop. The patrol cruiser struck the back of a vehicle driven by Elizabeth Wilson, 18, of Cedar Falls. The impact pushed Wilson’s car into the back end of a vehicle driven by Melissa Nicholson, 34, of Waterloo. Nicholson’s vehicle was pushed into the back of an SUV driven by Josef Gindorff, 31, of Waterloo.
An accident report does not list injuries to any of the drivers.
Officials said the vehicles ahead of the patrol cruiser were stopped because of a traffic jam on Hudson Road.
The trooper’s attention “was drawn to a passenger vehicle that parked on a grass area facing southbound.†Officials said there was not enough distance for the trooper to stop in time.
The accident was investigated by the Iowa State Patrol rather than Cedar Falls police. Officials said local police departments can and do investigate accidents involving other law enforcement agencies, but in this case the State Patrol investigated one of its own crashes.
State Patrol diagram of accident. Trooper's cruiser is number one.
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