(Council Bluffs, Iowa) – An investigation into a fatal motorcycle crash that occurred Feb.16th in Council Bluffs, has resulted in an arrest. According to Sgt. Joshua Hughes with the Council Bluffs Police Department’s Special Operations/Traffic/K-9 Unit, 29-year-old Caleb Jefferson Bartels, of Council Bluffs, was arrested Tuesday (April 5, 2022), on charges of Homicide by Motor Vehicle while Under-the-Influence, Failure to Maintain Control, and Operating a vehicle without a license. Alcohol and speed were believed to be factors in the crash.

Bartels was being held in the Pottawattamie County Jail on $50,000 bond. His next hearing is set for April 14th.

Caleb J. Bartels

The accident happened at around 2:06-a.m. Feb. 16th, on Interstate 29 northbound at the 48.9-mile marker , in Council Bluffs.  Upon arrival Police found a man suffering from serious injuries, and a female who had died from her injuries. During the investigation that followed, authorities determined Bartels was operating a 2013 Harley Davidson motorcycle when it went off the road. Bartels and his passenger, 33-year-old Tomorrow Riley, of Omaha, were thrown from the cycle.

She was the mother of a 13-year old son.