The Iowa State Patrol says a 22-year old woman from Shelby County died Friday afternoon during a crash between her car and a semi-tractor trailer. Nicollette M. Johnston, of Harlan, died at the scene of the crash on Interstate 80, a little more than two-miles west of the Avoca exit.  Officials says Johnston’s 2006 Saturn was traveling west on I-80 at around 1-p.m., when, for reasons unknown, her car went out of control, entered the median, spun counterclockwise and came to rest on the eastbound lanes of I-80, where it was struck on broadside by a 2007 Volvo semi. The truck impacted the car on the driver’s side, causing it to enter the median, where it came to rest.

The semi, registered to Holiday Express in Estherville, and driven by 45-year old Bret Roberts, of Estherville, crossed the median and came to rest on the westbound lanes of I-80. The accident, which remains under investigation, closed the interstate in both directions, for nearly 4 hours.

The Iowa Department of Public Safety has confirmed 40-year old Robert Taylor’s vehicle was located at the eight mile marker on the side of the road along I-29, northbound Friday evening.  Officials said a subject matching the description of Taylor is deceased due to a self-inflicted gunshot wound. However, positive identification won’t be made until the autopsy is completed by the State Medical Examiner’s Office.

Murder suspect Robert Taylor

At approximately 2:06-am Friday, the Ringgold County Communications Center received a 911 call from 2339 – 280th Street in Mt. Ayr.  A juvenile inside the home called and reported a domestic altercation between Taylor,  and 45-year old Lori Yeager.  The responding deputies found Lori Yeager dead inside the home; the victim of an apparent homicide. Robert Taylor was not located at the home.

Since law enforcement discovered Yeager dead Friday morning, they had been actively searching for Robert Taylor.  An active arrest warrant had been issued for Taylor on the charge of Murder in the First Degree.  Taylor was last seen driving a copper (burnt orange) 2008 Ford F350 Super Duty truck with Iowa license 981 RZD.

Vehicle similar to Taylor's, which authorities had been looking for

KCCI-TV in Des Moines is confirming a report we first reported here on KJAN.com, that the Mt. Ayr murder suspect is dead. Officials say a man matching the description of 40-year old Robert Daren Taylor, of Mt. Ayr,  shot himself in front of a Freemont deputy this (Friday) afternoon. The Freemont County Sheriff said his deputy spotted the Ford pickup Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation agents were looking for around 4 p.m. on Interstate 29 near mile marker 8.

The sheriff told KCCI when his deputy approached the vehicle, the man inside opened his car door, faced the deputy and shot himself. Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI) agents told the station the man who shot himself matches the description of Taylor, but they could not confirm his identity without an autopsy. However, according to scanner traffic by law enforcement monitored by KJAN News Director Ric Hanson, a Medical Examiner who arrived on the scene was said to have acknowledged Taylor was the man who died.

Taylor was wanted by law enforcement in the death of 45-year Lori Yeager, who agents said lived with Taylor. Yeager and Taylor’s 9-year-old daughter called 911 just after 2 a.m. Friday to report a fight between the two. When authorities arrived they said they found Yeager dead and Taylor missing.

Sheriff’s Officials in Page County say a College Springs man was arrested Friday morning on a charge of Domestic Abuse Assault, an aggravated misdemeanor. 34-year old Ricky Dean Peterson was taken into custody at around 10:20-a.m., following an investigation into a complaint about domestic abuse at a residence in the 900 block of School Street in College Springs.  Peterson was being held in the Page County Jail without bond,  until he appears before a magistrate.

The suspect in this morning’s murder near Mount Ayr is apparently dead. According to scanner traffic, the suspect’s vehicle was discovered on Interstate 29 northbound in Fremont County, near mile marker 8. The Medical Examiner on scene has identified the victim in the vehicle as 40-year old Robert Taylor, who apparently died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.Taylor was wanted for first-degree murder in connection with the shooting of 45-year old Lori Yeager.

The scene is being cordoned-off until investigators with the Iowa DCI can arrive.  Additional details will be released as they become available.

The Iowa Department of Transportation reports Interstate 80 near Avoca is now open, following a crash between a vehicle and a semi. A woman in her 20’s reportedly died at the scene of the crash, which happened when her westbound vehicle crossed the median and hit an eastbound semi head-on. The woman’s name, and other details about the crash have not yet been released. The accident had closed I-80 eastbound completely, and blocked one land of I-80 westbound, at the Avoca exit. More details about the crash when it becomes available.

A collision between a semi and a car has Interstate 80 eastbound and one lane of I-80 westbound blocked near the Shelby exit.  The interstate is closed from Exit 34 to 40.  Follow local detour or use alternate route if possible.  No other details are currently available.

The National Transportation Safety Board, Thursday, issued two safety recommendations to the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) related to five rear-end collisions in which crewmembers failed to operate their trains at the required restricted speed. One of the crashes happened on April 17th, 2011, near Red Oak. The trains’ conductor Patricia “Trish” Hyatt and Engineer Tom Anderson, both of Creston, died in the crash. They were both 48 years old. A similar incident which occurred the following month in Mineral Springs, NC, also resulted in crewmember fatalities. Both are still under investigation by the NTSB.

All five of the NTSB’s recommendations focus on the need for railroads to  disseminate information related to these accidents to their employees, and to emphasize the need for crewmembers to operate trains in accordance with restricted speed operating rules. The other freight train accidents happened last year in Low Moor, Virginia, DeWitt, New York, and in DeKalb, Indiana. Four of the five accidents occurred on railroad lines over which Amtrak passenger trains operate. 

Because the accidents occurred on different railroads and under different circumstances, the NTSB said it was concerned that non-compliance with restricted speed requirements may be an issue affecting a broad segment of the U.S. railroad industry. Signal systems provide for the safe separation between trains. However, officials say there are times when trains are authorized to occupy the same sections of track. In these cases, safe train operations rely solely on crewmember compliance with the railroad’s restricted speed requirements. Typically, the requirements include “being prepared to stop within one-half the range of vision.” Complete understanding of and strict compliance with restricted speed requirements are absolutely mandatory to prevent catastrophic train collisions. 

(The safety recommendation letters may be found here: http://www.ntsb.gov/safety/safety_recs.html)

A Brayton teen escaped injury during a rollover accident that occurred Thursday night, about a mile south of Exira. The Audubon County Sheriff’s Office says 16-year old Cody Ray Juelsgaard was traveling south on Kingbird Avenue, at around 7:15-p.m., when he lost control of a 1998 Chevy pickup he was driving as he was negotiating a curve in the road. The vehicle began to drift to the right before it entered the west ditch and flipped onto its roof, causing about $3,000 damage.

Robert Taylor's truck

Murder suspect Robert Taylor

Authorities in southern Iowa are on the lookout for a man suspected in a homicide case. Officials with the Iowa Department of Public Safety say the Ringgold County Communications Center in Mount Ayr received a 9-1-1 call just after 2-a.m. from 2339 – 280th Street in Mt. Ayr.  A juvenile inside the home called and reported a domestic altercation between 40-year old Robert Taylor,  and 45-year old Lori Yeager.  The responding deputies found Lori Yeager dead inside the home, the victim of an apparent homicide. Robert Taylor left the residence, and is actively being sought by authorities.

Officials say Taylor has an active arrest warrant on a charge of Murder in the First Degree.  He was last seen driving a copper (burnt orange) 2008 Ford F350 Super Duty truck with Iowa license 981 RZD.  Taylor is considered armed and dangerous.  Anyone with information concerning Taylor’s whereabouts is asked to call 911 immediately or the Ringgold County Sheriff’s Office at (641) 464-3921.