Rural mail carrier dies after landing in flooded ditch

All the rainy weather this week may have contributed to the death of a Kensett woman this week in Worth County. 65-year-old Beverly Jean Helgeson, a rural mail carrier, died after the car she was driving landed in a water-filled ditch at a corner 2 miles west of Fertile. The ditch normally has about 2 feet of water but had risen to about six feet during the recent rainfall. The driver of the other vehicle, 76-year-old Bonnie Dawn of Britt, was taken to a local hospital. Officials say the mail carrier failed to yield as she was coming onto the highway and the westbound vehicle hit her car, sending it into the water. Traffic was heavier than usual on Highway 9, as traffic was diverted onto it due to construction on nearby highways.