The Black Hawk County Attorney will look into possible charges against an Iowa State Trooper after his role in a four-car pile-up in Cedar Falls last week. A State Patrol report shows that trooper Jeremy Schaffer of Cedar Falls was northbound on Hudson Road near the UNI-Dome just before four o’clock last Friday afternoon when he was distracted after noticing a car parked on a grassy area.

In the report, Schaffer stated he was unable to stop in time to avoid hitting the stopped car ahead of him. Schaffer’s patrol car rear-ended a car driven by 18-year-old Elizabeth Wilson of Cedar Falls. Her car then hit a vehicle driven by 34-year-old Melissa Nicholson of Waterloo, and her car was pushed into an SUV being driven by 31-year-old Josef Gindorff of Waterloo.

At the time of the accident, Hudson Road was seeing heavy traffic due to the state high school football playoffs being played at the UNI-Dome. No one was injured in the crash, but combined damage to the four vehicles was estimated at nearly $34,000.

By Jesse Gavin, KCNZ, Cedar Falls