A Sanborn man was involved in a traffic accident that took the life of a Mediapolis woman. The collision occurred near Middletown in Des Moines County around 1:00 p.m. on October 1.
According to the Iowa State Patrol, Marilyn Jean Drebenstedt, age 87 of Mediapolis was driving a 2012 Kia Sorento and was westbound on US 34/163 west of Middletown when a witness observed the vehicle backing up on the travel portion of the highway until reaching a crossover marked with a No U Turn sign near MM255.
At this same time, Richard Scott Hoops, age 55 of Sanborn, driving a 2019 Peterbilt 520 truck owned by Wemiga Waste, Inc. of Mount Pleasant was westbound on Highway 34 at the same location. Drebenstedt turned left in front of the Hoops truck in an attempt to make the crossover. The truck struck the Kia directly in the driver’s door.
Drebenstedt was pronounced dead at the scene.