Memorial Day Weekend’s First Traffic Death

A two-vehicle accident in southwest Iowa Friday afternoon may have resulted in Iowa’s first Memorial Day weekend traffic fatality. The Iowa State Patrol says 81-year-old Francis Allen of Prescott was driving on State Highway 25 north of Creston yesterday afternoon. When Allen tried to make a left turn onto a county road, she pulled into the path of 31-year-old Carla Ott of Orient. Allen’s 1994 Chevrolet and Ott’s 1996 Ford colided, sending both vehicles off the road into a ditch. Emergency workers had to use the jaws-of-life to free Allen from her vehicle. Both drivers were transported to Greater Community Hospital in Creston. Allen was then taken to Mercy Hospital in Des Moines where she died from her injuries. No information is available on Ott’s condition.