Three Mason City teens were injured after their car flipped upside down into the Winnebago River in Mason City as they were coming back from a classmate’s funeral. Mason City police identify the teens as 17-year-old Dustin McMurray, 16-year-old Colby Schmidtke and 16-year-old Tyler Ridder.
Police say Ridder was able to get out of the vehicle on his own, but McMurray and Schmidtke had to be rescued by Mason City firefighters. Those two were unconscious and taken by ambulance to Mercy Medical Center-North Iowa in Mason City. Ridder was also transported to Mercy-North Iowa by car.
Officials at Mercy-North Iowa are not releasing any condition about the victims at this time, but a CaringBridge website set up by Schmidtke’s family reports that he is “stable and continuing to improve.” The three apparently were traveling back to the high school after the funeral for 16-year-old Zach Graney, who died on Saturday after collapsing while walking to a convenience store.
By Bob Fisher, KRIB, Mason City