The Iowa Court of Appeals has ruled state officials have the authority to suspend the driving privileges of a woman from Crawfordsville who involved in a fatal accident in southeast Iowa. On July 24, 2007, Kenna Roth was involved in an accident on Highway 218 in Washington County. She was heading east, on a road that intersected Highway 218.
Roth stopped, but then pulled onto the highway — into the path of a motorcycle that was driving south on the highway. The motorcycle hit the passenger side of Roth’s car — killing both the motorcycle driver and the passenger riding behind.
The accident happened at about 3:30 in the afternoon. The couple riding the motorcycle were from Miami, Florida.Roth was found guilty of failure to yield the right-of-way in district court.
The Iowa Department of Transportation suspended her drivers license for a year. She appealed, saying the D.O.T. had exceeded its authority. Roth asked that the suspension be reduced to 120 days, or rescinded altogether. The Iowa Court of Appeals has ruled the D.O.T. did not exceed its authority.
In a written opinion, the court said the deaths of two people are a “reasonable basis for determining Roth’s license should be suspended for one year.”