Merrill, Iowa– A Sheldon man and his passenger were taken to a hospital after an accident in Merrill.
The Plymouth County Sheriff’s Office reports that about 5:25 AM on Wednesday, November 30, 2016, 22-year-old Hugo Armando of Sioux City was driving a 2005 Pontiac minivan northbound on Highway 75, at the north edge of Merrill. They say 40-year-old Joshua Weber of Sheldon was southbound on 75 in a 2003 Chevy.
The report says that Armando was beginning to cross the Floyd River bridge. The bridge was frost-covered and slick at the time. It says Armando lost control and crossed the center line, and his minivan traveled into the southbound lane of travel. Weber was crossing the bridge southbound. The vehicles struck head-on in the north approach to the bridge. According to the officer, the occupants of the Armando vehicle then fled the scene on foot and were located about an hour later.
The Le Mars Ambulance transported Weber, and the Merrill Ambulance took a passenger in Weber’s vehicle, 50-year-old Thomas Jungers of Hospers, both to Floyd Valley Hospital in Le Mars.
Armando’s Pontiac and Weber’s Chevy sustained $3000 in damages, each. The report says that was enough to total both vehicles.
It says Armando was finally identified as the driver, and he was arrested on a charge of operating without a license.
The report says the Le Mars and Merrill Fire Departments and Ambulance Services assisted at the scene.
