A woman who was a paraprofessional with the Clarinda Community School District died Thursday morning, when the van she was a passenger in was struck by a semi. The accident happened at around 7:44-a.m. at the intersection of Highways 2 and 59. According to the Iowa State Patrol, a 2018 Dodge Caravan owned by the South Page School District, was traveling west on Highway 2, when the driver, 70-year-old Chester Lynn Johnson, of Clarinda, failed to stop at the intersection. The van was struck by a 1998 Peterbilt semi, driven by 31-year old Spencer Allyn Lauman, of Coin, who was driving north on Highway 59.

The impact caused the van to spin around. A passenger, 46-year-old Jeanette Helen Carson, of Clarinda, was ejected during the crash. She died at the Shenandoah Hospital. The semi rolled onto its right side and slide into the northwest ditch. The van came to rest in the ditch. Johnson, and a 12-year old Clarinda School District student in the van, were injured during the collision and transported by Shenandoah Rescue to the Shenandoah Hospital.

The intersection was blocked for several hours. The Patrol was assisted at the scene by the Page and Fremont County Sheriff’s Offices, Shenandoah Fire and Rescue, and the Iowa Department of Transportation’s Maintenance and Motor Vehicle Traffic Enforcement Division. The accident remains under investigation.