The Iowa State Patrol says one person died as the result of a single-vehicle rollover accident on Interstate 29 Thursday evening, in Pottawattamie County. 47-year old Eileen J. Walpus, of Glenwood, died after being flown from the scene of the crash near Council Bluffs, to the Creighton University Medical Center in Omaha. Officials says Walpus was traveling on I-29 at around 5:40-p.m. when her 2005 Dodge Neon left the road and entered a ditch before traveling through a fence and onto Beacon Lane. From there, the car entered another ditch and rolled over before finally coming to rest on its top. The Patrol says Walpus was wearing her seatbelt. The accident remains under investigation.

Two people were injured during a single-vehicle accident Thursday evening about one-half mile south of Lewis Lake. The accident happened at around 6:10-p.m. Lewis Fire and Griswold Rescue responded to the scene. One of the victims suffered a shoulder injury, the other a laceration to the head, when the car they were in went off the road and ended-up in a ditch. None of the injuries were believed to have been life threatening.
Emergency responders reported the roads in the area, especially on the curves, were “like a skating rink,”  meaning very icy. No other details are currently available.

Sheriff’s officials in Pottawattamie County say a California man was arrested Wednesday afternoon, after authorities found 53 pounds of marijuana in a rooftop luggage carrier on his vehicle. According to the sheriff’s department, Deputy Brian Miller stopped an SUV driven by 28-year old Robert Jones, of Oakdale, CA, on Interstate 80 eastbound near Neola at around 1:45 p.m., when the deputy noticed the 2005 Dodge Durango allegedly made an improper use of lane change.

During the stop, Miller asked for and received permission to search the vehicle. His k-9 partner Francisco alerted to the possible prescence of narotics. A  search of the rooftop carrier yielded numerous vacuum sealed bags of pot, which amounted to 53-pounds. Jones faces a charge of Possession with the Intent to Deliver/Marijuana, and other, related offenses. The man was booked into the Pottawattamie County Jail.

Officials with the Iowa Department of Public Safety say an Iowa State Patrol Trooper suffered non-life threatening injuries this (Thursday) morning, after his cruiser collided with a pickup truck. The incident happened at around 11:30-a.m. According to the DPS report, Trooper Tim Sieleman attempted to make a traffic stop near the intersection of the South Expressway and 23rd Ave in Council Bluffs.

The driver of a white Dodge pickup refused to stop.  A pursuit ensued and the driver of the pickup crossed the median, driving north in the southbound lane.  The pickup and the patrol cruiser collided, injuring the trooper.  The trooper was taken to Mercy Hospital in Council Bluffs for treatment of minor injuries, and later released.

The driver of the pickup still would not pull over. They continued south on South Expressway, and then west on Veterans Memorial Highway (Hwy 92), where once again the suspect drove west in the eastbound lanes of Veterans Memorial Highway. At this point his pickup hit another patrol cruiser. The pursuit continued west on Veterans Memorial Highway, where stop-sticks were deployed to disable the vehicle. Two tires were punctured, but the pickup continued, crossing the Missouri River Bridge and entering Omaha.  Troopers then used their vehicles to box in the pickup at 24th and L St. in Omaha, ending the pursuit.

The 1998 Dodge Ram pickup had been reported stolen out of Omaha. The driver of the pickup and the single female passenger have been identified as 36 year old Carl Eugene Pelander, of Council Bluffs and 25-year old Katherine Elizabeth Lynn, of Shenandoah. The pair were taken into custody by officers the Omaha Police Department and being held in the Douglas County, Nebraska, Jail.