A chain-reaction accident Saturday afternoon in Council Bluffs caused a total of $26,500 damage to five vehicles, but no one was seriously injured. According to Bluffs Police, four of the cars were lined up at a stop light on Highway 92, at the Interstate 29 intersection on South Omaha Bridge Road, when a fifth car hit the last car in line. The initial collision resulted in a chain reaction which forced each car into the next vehicle.

The driver of car which started the incident, 43-year old Maura Ann Bonnett, of Council Bluffs, told officers she had also been stopped at the light, but Bonnett was ticketed for failure to maintain an assured clear distance, and for having no insurance. The driver of one of the vehicles involved in the collision, 50-year old Debra Larson, of Honey Creek, complained of chest pain following the incident, but she refused medical treatment. 

The other drivers were identified as 27-year old Jeffrey Hough, of Minnesota; 64-year old Lillian Irvin, of Shenandoah; and, 61-year old Charles Matthews, of Council Bluffs.

A fire that began with a car Friday evening in Red Oak spread to a nearby structure, damaging the building and destroying the car. Red Oak Police were notified about a car fire in the 500 block of East Washington Avenue. When they arrived they found a 1993 Chevy Corsica fully engulfed in flames. The fire quickly spread to a tree, stack of tires, and a shed. Red Oak Fire Fighters made quick work of putting out the car’s flames, but it was considered a total loss. The amount of damage to the shed had not been determined. Both the car and the shed are owned by Michael Shane Evans, of Red Oak.

Authorities are asking anyone with information about the incident to contact the Red Oak Police Department at 712-623-6500, or, Montgomery County Crimestoppers at 1-800-432-1001.

The Fremont County Sheriff’s Office investigated two non-injury accidents and arrested one person over the past couple of weeks. In a report issued today (Monday), 18-year old Taylor Jackson Anderson, of Sidney, was arrested October 19^th, on a charge of 2^nd degree theft.

In the accident report, officials said Ryan Casey, from Riverton, was driving a 1996 Ford Ranger pickup and had stopped at the intersection with 330^th and Highway 2, before proceeding into the intersection, where his vehicle hit a 1995 Pontiac Grand Am, driven by Amy Blake, of Farragut. The accident happened on October 12^th.

The other accident in Fremont County happened on October 14^th, when an SUV driven by Karen Haigwood, of Shenandoah, pulled out from the intersection of Sheridan Avenue and Highway 59, and hit a car driven by Amanda Jones, of Council Bluffs.

No injuries were reported in either accident. The Sheriff’s report didn’t indicate if any citations were issued.

Sheriff’s officials in Cass County report four men were arrested over the past couple of weeks on OWI charges. On Sunday, 29-year old Jeffrey Joseph Rickert, of Wheatfield, IN, was taken into custody on a charge of OWI/1st offense. Last Saturday, 35-year old Richard Edwin Swain, of Griswold, was arrested for OWI/1st offense, and on a Magistrate’s warrant for Failure to Appear on a charge of Careless Driving.  On October 15th, 41-year old Charles Ray Balius, of Diagonal, was arrested for OWI/1st Offense. And, on October 11th, 26-year old Robert Sutton Krisinger, of Atlantic was arrested for OWI/1st Offense. Swain, Balius, and Krisinger were later released on their  own recognizance, while Rickert was later released on $1,000 bond.

The Sheriff’s Department reports also, 26-year old Jesse James Daniel, of Atlantic, was arrested October 12th, on a charge of Driving Under Suspension. He was brought to the Cass County Jail, and later released on his own recognizance. And, 33-year old Robert Anthony Ross, of Omaha, was arrested October 19th on a District Court warrant for Probation Violation. Ross was being held in the Cass County Jail on $5,000 bond.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Amtrak ridership dropped nearly 16 percent over the past 12 months in Iowa, and officials blame most of the decline on Missouri River flooding. Officials say nearly 58,000 passengers got on and off Amtrak trains at six Iowa stations for the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30. That’s 10,000 fewer passengers than the previous fiscal year. Amtrak spokesman Marc Magliari says that more than 90 Iowa-bound Amtrak trains were canceled this year, primarily because of flooding in western Iowa.

Amtrak’s California Zephyr stops in Burlington, Mount Pleasant, Ottumwa, Osceola and Creston. The Southwest Chief stops in Fort Madison. The trains run between Chicago and the West Coast. Amtrak reported a record 30.2 million passengers nationally for the past 12 months.