The Council Bluffs Police Department has released additional details about a fatal accident that occurred early this (Friday) morning. Police responded to the scene of the crash in the 200 block of Vets Memorial Highway about one-quarter of a mile west of the Metro Drive intersection at around 1:20-a.m. Officials say a Chevy Astro Van driven by 31-year-old Hilberto Velasquez Ramirez of Nashville, TN,was traveling east in the westbound lanes of traffic, when it collided with the driver’s side of a westbound Chevy Cavalier driven by 18-year-old Brenden Kniesly, of Council Bluffs. Officials say Kniesly tried to avoid a head-on collision by swerving to the right.

A passenger in Kniesly’s vehicle, 17-year-old Chrisshaun Moten, of Council Bluffs, was taken from the scene to a local hospital where he was later pronounced dead. Moten was a student at the Lewis Central High School in Council Bluffs. Kniesly and two other people in the van, 17-year-old Phillip Moffatt and 16-year-old Jessilyn Eisman, both of Council Bluffs, were injured in the crash and transported to the hospital, with Kniesly and Moffatt suffering from what were described as serious injuries. Eisman was treated for her injuries, and released.

Tests administered to Ramirez indicated his blood alcohol level was .178-percent, or more than twice the legal limit.  Ramirez faces a charge of Homicide by Motor Vehicle, two counts of Serious Injury by Motor Vehicle, and OWI. He was also cited for failure to hold a driver’s license and having no proof of insurance. He was being held in the Pottawattamie County Jail on $65,000 bond.