One person was killed and two others, all from southeast Iowa were injured, during a crash early this (Sunday) morning east of Stanton, in Montgomery County. The Iowa State Patrol says the driver of a 2001 Oldsmobile Aurora, 23-year old Brandon L. Perez, of Ft. Madison, who was wearing a seat belt, died in the crash just west of Viking Lake State Park. Two passengers, 30-year old Hilary J. Knox, and a 3-year old child, both from Ft. Madison, were ejected from the vehicle as it rolled over. Neither were wearing their seat belts. Both were flown by LifeNet Helicopter to hospitals in Nebraska. Knox was flown to the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, while the child was flown to Childrens Methodist Hospital.

The Patrol says the car was traveling west on Highway 34 near Q Avenue at around 2:10-a.m., when the wheels slipped off onto the shoulder. Perez over-corrected, causing the vehicle to cross the road and enter the south ditch where it rolled several times before coming to rest on its top.

Alcohol is believed to have played a role in the crash, which remains under investigation.