A head-on collision last night in southwest Iowa’s Mills County left one person dead and three others injured. The accident happened on Highway 34 between Malvern and Hastings at around 5:20 P.M.

The Iowa State Patrol says 84-year-old Marilyn Gruber, of Shenandoah, who was not wearing her seat belt, died at the scene. The woman was a passenger in mini-van driven by 91-year-old Richard Gruber, who was also not wearing a seat belt. Officials say an eastbound SUV driven by 57-year-old Christine Carpenter, of Warrensburg, Missouri, pulled to the right off of Highway 34 and made a U-turn in front of eastbound van.

Richard Gruber and Christine Carpenter were flown by helicopter to an Omaha trauma center. A passenger in the SUV, 56-year-old David Carpenter, of Warrensburg, was also injured and transported to the same hospital by Glenwood Rescue. Traffic on Highway 34 had to be re-routed for several hours while the crash remained under investigation.

(Reporting by Ric Hanson, KJAN, Atlantic)