Rock Rapids, Iowa — The Lyon County Sheriff’s Office has just released the details about an accident in which the occupants are lucky to have escaped with their lives. That from Lyon County Sheriff Stewart Vander Stoep.
The sheriff’s office tells us that on July 4, 2024, at around 11:35 p.m., 20-year-old Xander John Ditsworth of Rock Rapids was driving a 2014 Jeep Patriot southbound on Larch Avenue, south of 170th Street. That’s three miles west and two south of Little Rock.
The report alleges that Ditsworth went around a road-closed barricade thinking the road was passable. The road and bridge approach south of the intersection had been completely washed away due to recent flooding. The 2014 Jeep became airborne over the void, struck the bridge, and fell into the creek below. It says the Jeep became mostly submerged in the creek, but all three occupants were able to escape.
The report says Ditsworth and his two passengers were transported to Avera Medical Group in Rock Rapids by the Little Rock Ambulance.
The 2014 Jeep was a complete loss valued at approximately $9,000. Ditsworth was cited for failure to obey a traffic control device, a simple misdemeanor.
The Lyon County Sheriff’s Office tells us the Little Rock Ambulance Squad, the Little Rock Fire Department, the Iowa State Patrol, and Trackside Towing assisted with the response to the accident.
