An Indianola man was seriously hurt Wednesday afternoon after driving a lawn care van into a lake spillway at Green Valley State Park. Union County Sheriff Rick Piel says the man is conscious but suffered multiple broken bones in the crash.
The unidentified individual was eastbound on 140th Street and apparently lost control around a curve just to the west of the lake’s spillway. Tire tracks at the scene indicate that he then left the roadway and traveled parallel to the pavement before careening into the spillway. It appears the van struck the concrete wall and slammed to the ground, landing on its tires.
The entire front end of the van was smashed from the blow. Due to recent drainage of the lake, no water was present in the spillway, but rescuers had to trudge through mud to rescue the man. He was life-flighted to Iowa Methodist Medical Center in Des Moines where is condition is unknown.
The van is owned and operated by TruGreen Lawn Care of Ankeny. A spokesperson at the store declined to comment.