Sheriff’s officials in southwest Iowa’s Pottawattamie County have identified the victims of Sunday’s crash on Highway 92. According to the Sheriff’s Department, 39-year-old Deidre Whitehall, of rural Council Bluffs, her daughter, 14-year-old Kelsey Breemes, of Lincoln, Nebraska, and 11-year-old Haylee Beck, of Council Bluffs, died, when the car they were riding in went out of control as it was headed west on Highway 92 between Council Bluffs and Treynor.
Whitehall’s 1999 Hyundai crossed the centerline of the road and collided with a 1999 Ford mini-van driven by 33-year-old Tanya Donney, of Carson. Whitehall and Breems died at the scene of the crash. Haylee Beck was taken to a Council Bluffs hospital where she died from her injuries. Donney suffered minor injuries and was taken to a hospital in Omaha for treatment.
All of the victims were wearing their seatbelts when the crash occurred at around 5:35 p.m. Sunday. Weather may have played a role in the accident, which remains under investigation. Roads in the area were covered with a mixture of rain, sleet and snow at the time. In addition, the National Weather Service in Valley, Nebraska, said gusty winds may have reduced the visibility. Several collisions were reported between 5:30 p.m. and 6 p.m. Sunday in Pottawattamie County, and between 5:30 and 8:30 p.m. in Cass County.
A jackknifed tractor-trailer was partially blocked Interstate 80 westbound Sunday evening at around 5:30, east of the Wiota exit, and several other minor accidents occurred in that same area, with no injuries reported.