A teen driver from the southwest Iowa town of Essex has died after a two-car accident. The Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office says Tara Maher, who just turned 17 this past Monday, died overnight from injuries sustained in an accident that occurred at the intersection of Highway 6 and Emerald Avenue east of Council Bluffs Tuesday morning.
Maher was driving westbound when her vehicle crossed the center line and struck the rear of an semi-truck. Maher’s passenger, 15-year-old Haley Funderman of Red Oak, was treated and released at the Nebraska Medical Center for a broken foot. The truck driver was not injured.
The girls were on their way to a volleyball camp in Council Bluffs when the accident happened. Essex School Superintendent Ron Flynn reports grief counselors will be at the school this afternoon beginning at 2 o’clock.
By Mike Peterson, KMA, Shenandoah