A 16-year-old Audubon, Iowa sophomore was killed after he was ejected from a tractor when a semi-truck slammed into the back of the trailer it was pulling, just south of town on Highway 71. Tatum Christensen died at the scene, officials said, in a crash that forced local schools to close for his funeral.
According to KCRG, the semi-truck struck the back of the trailer that Christensen's tractor was pulling, ejecting him from the vehicle. Accounts of the crash's timing differ: KCRG reported the wreck happened Sunday night on Highway 71 just south of Audubon, while KCCI reported the crash happened just before noon that same Sunday. The semi-truck driver was flown to a hospital with serious injuries, per the KCRG report.
Radio Iowa identified the semi's driver as 46-year-old Kenneth Mohr of Audubon, who suffered serious injuries in the crash, according to Radio Iowa. Christensen was a sophomore at Audubon High School, KJAN reports, and the Audubon school district is closing for his funeral.
A Second Farm Equipment Crash the Same Day
Christensen's death was not the only farm equipment crash reported in Audubon County that Sunday. The same KCRG report notes this was the second farm equipment crash in the county that day, with a separate collision leaving a pickup truck driver seriously injured after his vehicle crashed head-on with a combine.
The second accident happened around 6 p.m. on Falcon Avenue, according to Radio Iowa: a Chevrolet pickup driven by 26-year-old Timothy Asmus hit a John Deere combine driven by 74-year-old David Madsen head-on. The report notes Asmus was taken to the hospital with serious injuries, while Madsen was not injured. KMAland, citing the crash report, placed the collision on Falcon Avenue south of 260th Street shortly after 6:15 p.m. and noted the pickup later caught fire.
Farm Equipment Crashes Carry Outsized Risk
The back-to-back wrecks underscore a risk researchers have long tracked on rural roads. According to a University of Iowa public health study, the fatality rate of farm equipment-involved crashes is nearly five times higher than the average for all road crashes. Researchers surveyed 201 adult drivers at gas stations in two small rural Iowa towns and found that only 10% considered farm equipment crashes to be a top road safety concern.
The same study found that drivers who believed others in their community frequently passed farm equipment were more likely to report doing so themselves, and that a driver's sex and experience operating farm equipment also influenced self-reported passing behavior. A related study published on PMC defines farm equipment as vehicles built for agricultural purposes and used exclusively in agricultural operations, including tractors, combines, sprayers, and grain carts.
No further details on the circumstances of either Audubon County crash, including the full Iowa State Patrol crash report, have been released.
