UPDATE:
A Colorado motorcyclist died after an I-80 crash near Newton before Noon today. The Iowa State Patrol says a westbound van had slowed because of an earlier crash. Fifty-eight-year-old Tedd Wall of Kremmling, Colorado who was operating a motorcycle, hit the van first, and then veered to the left and hit a second vehicle, which was on the shoulder because of stopped traffic. He was flown to Mercy Medical Center in Des Moines, but died of his injuries.
Several wrecks slowed westbound I-80 traffic, near Newton for several hours today.
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NEWTON, Iowa- The Iowa State Patrol says traffic is slow on westbound I-80 near Newton because of several crashes late this morning and into the early afternoon.
Sgt. Nate Ludwig with the Iowa State Patrol tells Channel 13 WHO-TV the first accident happened this (Thursday) morning before 11:30 a.m. when a driver had a medical condition and their vehicle went into the ditch. That caused traffic to back up and officials believe the next accident, a rear-end crash involving two vehicles, happened because a driver wasn’t paying attention or was distracted.
The State Patrol says a third accident involved a motorcycle. No word yet on how many people were injured, a medical helicopter was called to the scene.