(Walnut, Iowa) – The Iowa State Patrol reports one person died and another was injured in a crash that occurred Tuesday afternoon on Interstate 80 westbound, near Walnut. The Patrol says a 2021 Freightliner semi driven by 85-year-old Kenneth Turner, of Norman, IN, was stopped in the left lane of I-80 near mile marker 48.55, due to a prior crash that had taken place.

A 2015 Honda Odyssey van driven by 45-year-old Emma Gonzalez-Maldonado, of Lincoln, NE., was traveling westbound on I-80 in the left lane, and failed to slow down and come to a stop. The van struck the semi before it spun-out and struck a third vehicle’s trailer. The third vehicle sustained no damage, and pulled-off to the shoulder of the road. The accident happened at around 4-p.m.

The van came to rest on the right shoulder of the Interstate. Gonzalez-Maldonado died at the scene. A passenger in the van, 18-year-old Emily Elizabeth Esteban, of Lincoln, NE., was injured, and transported by Walnut EMS to Myrtue Memorial Hospital, in Harlan. Both women were wearing their seat belts.

The Patrol was assisted at the scene by the Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office.