Police have now identified the man who died in an accident when his pickup slammed into the Iowa Braille and Sight Saving School in Vinton. Seventy-three-year-old Melvin Schmidt of Vinton is identified as the driver of the pickup that left Highway 218 Monday, and traveled over 200 yards across the school campus before colliding with the wall of the school gym.
The crash created a hole in the gym wall, scattering bricks and truck parts across the gym floor. No students were injured. Police are looking into medical problems as a possible caused of the accident. Results of an autopsy on Schmidt are still pending.