Des Moines police reveal name of driver who died in Friday morning crash with semi-truck
Police have identified the driver who died after a semi-truck swerved into the wrong lane and crashed into his Nissan sedan on Merle Hay Road Friday morning.
First responders arrived on scene at the 3800 block of Merle Hay Road at approximately 8:23 a.m. after responding to reports of a crash with injuries, according to information released by Sgt. Paul Parizek of the Des Moines Police Department on Friday afternoon. They pronounced 50-year-old Ankeny resident Chad Kevin Lentz dead at the scene and transported the driver of the semi-truck, a 55-year-old Newton man, to the hospital. Parizek said the man "appeared to be suffering from a medical event" and he was transported to the hospital in "critical condition."
It is unclear whether the apparent medical event contributed to the circumstances of the fatal crash. However, investigators said evidence at the scene shows the semi-truck driver veered from the northbound lane into the southbound lane of Merle Hay Road by the Douglas Avenue intersection, where it struck Lentz's vehicle. Lentz was traveling southbound at the time. After crashing into Lentz's Nissan sedan, the semi-truck continued off the road and crashed into a utility pole, according to the release.
Images from the scene show a yellow semi-truck diagonally cutting across the southbound lane of Merle Hay Road while a silver sedan appears damaged off to the side. The front of the truck appeared to have knocked down a utility pole.
This is the fifth traffic-related fatality in Des Moines of 2023. There have been 135 traffic fatalities in Iowa so far this year, which is three more fatalities than at the same time last year, according to the Iowa Department of Transportation.
The Des Moines Police Department is continuing to investigate the crash with assistance from the Iowa Department of Transportation Motor Vehicle Enforcement.
Francesca Block is a breaking news reporter at the Des Moines Register. Reach her at FBlock@registermedia.com or on Twitter at@francescablock3.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Police identify Merle Hay Rd crash victim, semi driver hospitalized
