A head-on crash Tuesday afternoon east of Shenandoah has claimed the life of the Shenandoah High School Volleyball Coach. The Iowa State Patrol reports 45-year old Chad Van Houten of Shenandoah died at the scene of the crash at around 2:30-p.m., four-miles West of E Avenue on 190th Street. The driver of the other vehicle, 64-year old Larry Wise of Clarinda, was transported to the Shenandoah Hospital by ambulance. Both men were wearing their seat belts.

Officials say Van Houten was westbound on 190th Street in a 2003 Dodge Intrepid, while  Wise was eastbound in a 2006 GMC pickup. Their vehicles met at the crest of a hill and collided in an offset, yet head-on manner. The accident remains under investigation.

Van Houten coached volleyball at Shenandoah for more than 5-years. He also worked as a guard for the Iowa Department of Corrections in Clarinda, and co-owned a drug store in Clarinda, along with his wife, Annie. Tuesday’s school board meeting in Shenandoah was postponed, and grief counselors called-in to help students, staff and the community deal with the loss.