(UPDATED) 1 killed in an eastern IA chain-reaction accident involving a school bus

News

October 18th, 2025 by Ric Hanson

(Benton County, Iowa) – A 37-year-old woman died Friday afternoon in eastern Iowa, during a chain reaction accident that involved a school bus.
According to the Iowa State Patrol, a 2018 Vinton/Shellsburg School Bus with six children onboard rear-ended a 2000 Jeep Wrangler that was stopped on southbound Highway 218 (24th Avenue), just south of Vinton, waiting to turn east.
The impact caused the Jeep to be pushed into the path of a 2018 Ford Edge SUV, which was traveling northbound on Highway 218. The crash happened at around 1:40-p.m., Friday. The driver of the Jeep died – who was identified Saturday afternoon as Crystal Offerman, from Vinton – died from injuries she suffered in the crash.
Neither the driver of the school bus, 28-year-old Nathon Enos, of Vinton, or the driver of the Ford SUV, 34-year-old Joshua Hopkins, of Cedar Rapids, were injured, nor were any of the students onboard the bus. The accident remained under investigation.
The State Patrol was assisted at the scene by the Benton County Sheriff’s Office.