(West Bend)– A one vehicle accident Tuesday in Palo Alto county ruptured a natural gas line and sent two people to the hospital.
The Iowa State Patrol says 80-year-old Floyd Fosnot of Mallard blacked out and lost control of a car he was driving a half mile west of West Bend on county road B-63. Authorities say the westbound vehicle left the road and entered the north ditch where it ran over a cemetary hedge. The vehicle traveled through a fence that surrounded a natural gas substation, and crashed into the pipeline, rupturing it.
Fosnot and a passenger, 79-year-old Edward Arnold of Mallard, were taken by ambulance to Palo Alto County Hospital in Emmetsburg. Fosnot is listed in stable condition; Arnold was treated and released.
Authorities say no evacuations were needed as a result of the natural gas leak. A dispatcher with the Palo Alto County Sheriff’s Office tells KUOO news crews worked through the night to restore natural gas service to West Bend, and that as of early this (Wed.) morning most of the service had been restored.
The mishap took place around 3:00 p.m. Tuesday.
Damage to a 1993 Cadillac Fosnot was driving was estimated at eight thousand dollars.
