(Spirit Lake)—A collision Wednesday at the intersection of Highways 9 and 71 in Spirit Lake, or the Wal-Mart corner, sent three people to the hospital.
The Spirit Lake Police Department says 69-year-old Gerald Stellinga of Spirit Lake was driving a 1997 Chevrolet pickup eastbound on Highway 9 when he apparently suffered a medical condition as he was going through the intersection. The vehicle collided with a Dodge Caravan driven by 82-year-old Charles Swanson of Spirit Lake. The pickup Stellinga was driving then collided with a stop sign, clipping it off. The sign then struck a motorcycle, driven by 53-year-old Robert Van Zandt of Trimont, Minnesota. The pickup Stellinga was driving continued eastbound a short distance before flipping over, coming to rest on its roof on the east side of the intersection.
Stellinga, Swanson and a passenger in Swanson’s vehicle, 79-year-old Evonne Swanson of Spirit Lake, were all transported by ambulance to Lakes Regional Healthcare. No information was available on their condition or extent of injuries.
Police say it appears Stellinga suffered some sort of medical condition as he was driving through the intersection.
Vanzandt was treated on the scene by paramedics and was released.
$5,000 in damage was estimated to the pickup driven by Stellinga; damage to the Dodge Caravan Swanson was driving was put at $6,000; and damage to the motorcycle driven by Van Zandt was estimated at $500. The stop sign owned by the Iowa Department of Transportation was valued at $2,000.
The crash took place shortly before 3:00 p.m.
