Ben Beary

Ben Beary

The Iowa Department of Public Safety has released the name of the driver of the second car in a fatal crash early Saturday morning that killed four people.

The State Medical Examiner has identified 25-year-old Ben Beary of Knoxville as the driver of the car which crashed head-on into a Des Moines police SUV at 12:30 in the morning on Interstate 80 near Waukee.

State troopers say Beary and Des Moines police officers Carlos Puente-Morales, who was 34, and Susan Farrell, who was 30, died. A prisoner the officers were transporting from Council Bluffs, 32-year-old Tosha Hyatt of Des Moines, also died in the accident.

Troopers says Beary’s Ford Taurus was traveling the wrong way on the intestate at the time and they are still investigating details of the crash. Beary’s family issued a statement through an attorney that says they know Ben was watching basketball games Friday night with friends, and it says: ” We know he would never intentionally cause this pain.” Beary’s family expressed condolences to the other families of the other victims involved in the accident.

Farrell’s funeral is scheduled for 11 A.M. Wednesday at the Lutheran Church of Hope in West Des Moines. She will be buried in the Highland Memorial Gardens Cemetery in Des Moines.

Here is the full statement from Beary’s family:

“The family of 25-year-old Ben Beary is grieving his death, and we extend our deepest sympathy to the families of the three other people whose precious lives were lost in the horrible crash early Saturday morning on Interstate 80. Our pain at losing Ben, a beloved son and brother, is multiplied by the knowledge that this collision brought so much grief to others.

We know Ben was watching basketball games Friday night with friends. We know he would never intentionally cause this pain. We hope that the police are able to piece together what happened next. But whatever information they find will not diminish the pain we feel at losing Ben at a young age. Nor will it lessen the grief for the families of Susan Farrell, Carlos-Puente-Morales, and Tosha Nicole Hyatt.

Our condolences go out to all who lost loved ones in this tragic accident. May God bless our families in our time of mourning. The family of Ben Beary requests privacy during this painful period.”

Photo courtesy of Beary family.