Authorities in Pottawattamie County say an Avoca teen was seriously injured during an accident near Walnut Thursday night. According to Sheriff Jeff Danker, the accident happened at around 8-p.m., on Western Avenue, just north of Walnut.  15-year old Josephine Anzalone, of Avoca, was injured in the single vehicle crash, and was flown by helicopter to Creighton University’s Trauma Center in Omaha. Emergency crews set-up a landing zone for the chopper at the Walnut High School football field.  

The accident happened when Anzalone’s vehicle hit a deer, went out of control, and rolled several time. The teen was ejected from the vehicle as it rolled. Danker says the girls’ father told him  she had left their house about two-hours before deputies arrived on the scene, so it’s not clear when the crash took place.  The accident remains under investigation.  

Josephine Anzalone is a member of the Walnut girl’s basketball team. School officials have postponed tonight’s girl/boy doubleheader with East Greene.  An account has been established at the Rolling Hills Bank in Walnut, to help defray the cost of medical expenses.