Nine Die in Iowa Pickup Truck Accident

**Mom23boys** · 01-02-2003, 04:31 PM

Nine Die in Iowa Pickup Truck Accident
By CORI DROST

MENLO, Iowa (AP) - A pickup truck crowded with passengers slammed into a semitrailer on Interstate 80 early Thursday, killing all nine people in the truck, authorities said.

The eastbound pickup crossed the median and hit the semi in the westbound lane around 2:30 a.m., the Iowa State Patrol said. The driver of the semi was taken to a hospital in Greenfield. His name was not immediately released.

``It was a mess,'' said Menlo Fire Chief Ben Gilman, who was first on the scene. ``Everyone in the truck was dead. They probably died on impact.''

Lt. Rob Hansen, patrol spokesman, said troopers couldn't tell where the victims were in the pickup because it was so badly damaged. It also was unclear if there was a topper on it.

``Not many vehicles have nine seat belts in them,'' Hansen said.

No other information about the victims or where the truck came from was immediately available, Hansen said.

He said he didn't want to speculate on why nine people were crowded into a truck traveling in the middle of the night. ``If they're not residents of our country or the Midwest it may be difficult to identify them,'' he added. Autopsies were planned, he said.

The accident site is about 30 miles west of Des Moines.

**I can't believe what little was left of the truck. What a tragedy.**