A van traveling the wrong direction on Interstate 29 late Wednesday night collided head-on with another van, resulting in two persons dead and three more injured. The Iowa State Patrol reports the accident happened at around 10:55-p.m. on I-29 in Monona County. A 2016 Dodge Caravan driven by 40-year old Angela Bender, of Omaha, was traveling southbound in the northbound lanes, when it collided with a 2012 Dodge Caravan in the northbound left lane. The driver of the second van, was identified as 51-year old Caroline Klimper, of Fort Morgan, CO. After the impact, Bender’s van entered the median and came to rest on the inside shoulder of southbound I-29.  The other van crossed both lanes of I-29 northbound and entered the east ditch. Both drivers died in the crash. Bender was not wearing a seat belt. Klimper was buckled-in to her vehicle.

One of the passengers, 32-year old William Wiley, of Phoenix, AZ., who was not wearing a seat belt, was flown by Mercy Air Care to Mercy Hospital. Two other passengers, 52-year old Preston Klimper, and 21-year old Mikayla Klimper, both of Ft. Morgan, CO., were transported by Burgess EMS to Burgess Hospital. Preston Klimper was buckled-in to the van, but Mikayla was not wearing her seat belt.

The accident remains under investigation.