An eastern Iowa man has died from injuries in a weekend traffic accident, in which his car slammed into a semi.


Linn County rescue workers were called out just before 10 a.m. Saturday (July 31) to the accident scene, on Highway 1, south of Light Road, just southwest of Mt. Vernon.

A southbound car, driven by 22-year-old Kyle Goodell from Marion, crossed the center line and collided head-on with a semi-tractor trailer, driven by 55-year-old Mary Ball of St. Helens, Oregon.

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After the collision, Goodell's car was sent into the ditch. Goodell was pronounced dead at the scene.

Ball, the semi-driver, was not hurt.

The accident is still under investigation by the Linn County Sheriff's office. They were assisted at the scene by the Mt. Vernon-Lisbon Police Department, Mt. Vernon Fire Department, Cedar Rapids Fire Department, and Mt. Vernon Ambulance.

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Latest Tornado outbreak info (From Radio Iowa)

The experts at the National Weather Service are still studying information they gathered from the outbreak of tornadoes across Iowa on July 14th. Meteorologist Alex Krull says they're now lowering their original estimate of 26 tornadoes.

"When we went back and looked at some satellite data after the event, we realized that there were a few tornadoes that we had considered two separate tornadoes had actually been just one track," Krull says. "We were able to look at some of the crop damage via satellite to realize the tornado had stayed on the ground a little bit longer than what the surface damage survey we had conducted the day after the tornado had indicated." Their current thinking is there were between 20 and 22 tornadoes that struck that day, not 26, but the final report is still being compiled. Krull says improved technology with better satellites help with storm surveys.

"When the tornado knocks down the corn, it's going to reflect that sunlight back up to the satellite a little bit differently," Krull says. "In some cases, you can even see the swirl marks from the tornado as it moves through. Rural parts of Iowa, this helps us to get a good idea of the track, especially if it doesn't do any damage to trees or structures." The Lake City tornado was the most powerful that day. It was designated as an EF-3 and had estimated wind speeds as high as 145 miles per hour.

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