Sheldon, Iowa– An Aurelia man and a Sheldon man were taken to the hospital after an accident in Sheldon on Sunday evening, September 10, 2023.
The Sheldon Police Department reports that at about 10:45 p.m., 20-year-old Zander Dowdy of Aurelia was driving a 2015 Polaris side-by-side UTV southbound on College Drive west of Northwest Iowa Community College’s (NCC’s) Lifelong Learning and Recreation Center (LLRC) in Sheldon.
The report says that when the officer arrived, he found 19-year-old Aiden Roach on the ground with complaints of back pain. He says Dowdy was standing next to him and complained of soreness at the time. The officer’s report says that Roach and Dowdy told him that they were ejected from the side-by-side. He tells us it was determined that the side-by-side was traveling too fast to navigate the curve and went off the roadway, then went airborne where it hit an electric pole belonging to NCC. The officer says the pole was split off at ground level, and that the side-by-side came to rest in a creek a short way away from the pole.
The Sheldon Community Ambulance Team took both Dowdy and Roach to Sanford Sheldon Hospital.
The Polaris side-by-side sustained $7500 in damages, which totaled the vehicle.
Sheldon Police Chief Scott Burtch says the accident is still under investigation, and citations, if any, are pending.
