A 39-year old Burlington man was killed…his 11-year old son injured…early yesterday(Thur) morning, when their mini-van collided with a semi pulling a grain trailer west of Mediapolis and the van caught fire.
James Wischmeier was pronounced dead at the scene. 11-year old Alex Jordan was reportedly pulled from the wreckage by passersby…including several Golden Furrow employees…who grabbed fire extinguishers and tried to put out the flames. Jordan was treated at the scene by Yarmouth and Mediapolis Fire & Ambulance personnel, then airlifted to Iowa City. The truck driver…67-year old Sidney Lutes of New London…was also injured; he was taken by ambulance to Great River Medical Center with what authorities characterized as non-life-threatening injuries.
Des Moines county deputies and the Iowa State Patrol continue their investigation of the accident, but they say it appears that Wischmeier’s van was northbound on 220th Avenue and ran the stop sign at Mediapolis Road. The semi hit the van in the driver’s side as it entered the intersection and the van went up in flames.
