A Bondurant man was arrested Tuesday in connection with a crash late last month that killed two people on Interstate 80.
According to the Iowa State Patrol, 37-year-old Travis Gonzales was driving a pickup that rear-ended a car in the westbound lanes of I-80 near Des Moines on the night of December 29. The crash killed the car’s driver, 22-year-old Austin Gainuss of Des Moines, and a passenger, 24-year-old Joshua Cox of Prairie City.
Investigators say Gonzales, who was not injured, was driving 126 miles-an-hour in a 65 miles-an-hour zone and was heavily intoxicated. Testing found his blood alcohol content was .219, nearly three-times the legal limit to drive. Gonzales was booked in the Polk County Jail Tuesday on OWI and vehicular homicide charges.
According to an online obituary, Gainuss served in the Navy and was father to a two-year-old girl. His family reported Gainuss donated his organs and other body parts, helping more than 200 people.