Three dead in two accidents on 34 Friday

Highway 34 claimed three lives Friday as an afternoon accident near Murray resulted in one deceased and an evening crash in Union County killed two teenagers.

According to the Iowa State Patrol, the Union County accident happened at approximately 7 p.m. at the intersection of Highway 34 and Iris Avenue.

A 1996 Peterbilt semi, driven by Kelly Lee Jones, 63, of Creston, stopped on Iris Avenue, then proceeded to turn left onto Highway 34. A 2008 Ford Explorer driven by Izabella Martinez, 17, of Omaha, was eastbound on Highway 34 when it struck the grain hopper the semi was pulling.

Martinez and passenger Alex C. Mauseth, 18, of Omaha, were both fatalities in the accident. A backseat passenger, 14-year-old Xavier Martinez, of Omaha, was injured and transported to the hospital by Creston EMS. All passengers were wearing seatbelts.

Jones was not injured in the accident. Highway 34 was closed for more than four hours as crews worked to clear the scene.

Union County Sheriff’s Office, Creston Police and Fire departments and Creston EMS were on scene.

Earlier in the day, Iowa State Patrol reported a head-on-collision on Highway 34, west of Osceola.

At approximately 1:35 p.m., a 2022 Chevy pickup driven by Jack C. England, 91, of Osceola, was traveling east on the highway, west of 160th Avenue, when for reasons unknown, the vehicle crossed the center line.

The pickup collided head-on with a westbound 2015 Lexus SUV, driven by Tiffany L. Oswald, 33, of Murray. England died at the scene while Oswald was transported from the scene by Methodist LifeFlight helicopter, to Methodist Hospital in Des Moines.

Both England and Oswald were wearing seatbelts at the time of the accident.

Clarke County Sheriff’s Office and Osceola Police assisted on scene.