Sutherland, Iowa — A Royal woman was injured after reportedly falling asleep at the wheel near Sutherland.
According to the report from the O’Brien County Sheriff’s Office, the mishap occurred when a 2012 Ford Fusion, driven by 56-year-old Jenny Lynn Baier, of Royal, was eastbound on 455th Street, approaching Yew Avenue, about five miles east-northeast of Sutherland. Deputies say Baier reportedly told her husband that she had fallen asleep and did not see the curve at Yew Avenue. According to the report, her car went off the road, struck a field drive, appeared to go airborne and land nose-first in the ditch. Deputies say the car then continued eastbound in the ditch and struck a support wire holding a utility pole, causing the top fifteen to twenty feet of the pole to snap in half.
According to the crash report, Baier told authorities that she had been involved in an accident two days earlier, and had not been sleeping well.
Baier was transported to the Spencer Hospital by Sutherland Ambulance for treatment of what are described as minor injuries.
Deputies say workers from Northwest REC responded to the scene and temporarily fixed the damage to the electrical pole.
Damage to Baier’s car is estimated at approximately $6,000, with about $2,000 damage to Northwest REC’s pole and wire.
