A car and a utility terrain vehicle collided at the intersection of East Worthington Road and Comer Road in rural Dubuque County shortly after 9:21 p.m. on August 8, killing two people and sending six others to the hospital with serious to life-threatening injuries. The dead were identified as 33-year-old Joshua Tack of Union and a 10-year-old juvenile, who was declared deceased at the scene.
The crash happened as traffic dispersed from a regional country music concert featuring Tracy Lawrence and Aaron Tippin, according to KCTN. The collision drew a sprawling multi-agency response, with the Dubuque County Sheriff's Office, Peosta Police Department, Cascade EMS, Dyersville Bi-County Ambulance, Farley Fire and EMS, Epworth Fire and EMS, and the Worthington Fire Department all working the scene. Tack was rushed to MercyOne Hospital in Dubuque, where he later died from his injuries, per the sheriff's office, as reported by KWWL.
A School Leader Remembered
Tack was an educator and school leader with the BCLUW Community School District in Conrad, and his death has resonated well beyond Dubuque County. The school district has publicly mourned his loss since news of the collision spread.
The Dubuque County Sheriff's Office has confirmed the crash involved a standard passenger car and a UTV occupied by multiple passengers, though it has not detailed which vehicle had the right of way at the rural intersection. Investigators have not said whether all mandatory UTV safety equipment — including headlights, seat belts, and the slow-moving-vehicle emblem required under state rules — was in use at the time, nor whether passenger capacity limits or driver impairment played any role. The sheriff's office says the collision remains under investigation.
Rural Roads See More UTVs Since 2022 Law
East Worthington Road and Comer Road are secondary county roads just outside Worthington, part of the rural address system that governs traffic rules for off-road vehicles in western Dubuque County. Iowa Code 321I, amended by House File 2130 in 2022, allows registered UTVs to travel on secondary county roads and non-interstate highways as long as operators are at least 18 with a valid driver's license and stay under 35 mph.
To legally use those roads, UTVs must be registered with the Iowa Department of Natural Resources and carry working headlights, taillights, brake lights, a horn, a rearview mirror, a muffler, brakes, and a slow-moving vehicle sign. Since the 2022 law took effect, UTV registrations have climbed sharply — reaching 57,394 in fiscal year 2024, a 47% jump, and an estimated 70,000 by 2025, according to the Iowa Department of Transportation.
That growth has come with a steep cost. ATV and UTV fatalities on Iowa public roads hit a record 20 deaths in 2024, up from 12 in each of the prior two years, before falling to seven in 2025, the same state data shows. A University of Iowa study analyzing trauma registry and crash data found that 39% of people injured in Iowa UTV crashes were 17 or younger, with 31% aged 15 or under and males making up 69% of injured occupants, according to research published on PMC.
Part of a Rough Stretch on County Roads
The Worthington-area crash came just over a week after another fatal wreck in rural Dubuque County — a July 29 head-on collision on Highway 52 that killed one person. Even so, statewide traffic deaths hit a century-low total in 2025, a decline officials attribute partly to fewer single-vehicle off-road and motorcycle crashes, per Radio Iowa.
For now, the Dubuque County Sheriff's Office has released only the basic circumstances of the crash and the identities of those killed. The cause of the collision, along with the outstanding questions about right-of-way and equipment compliance, remains part of the ongoing investigation.
