WAPELLO COUNTY, IOWA — Highway 63 south of Ottumwa was closed for nearly four hours Wednesday afternoon after one semi-truck rear-ended another that was stopped waiting to turn into a driveway, trapping one driver in the wreckage and sending the other to a Des Moines hospital by air.
Iowa State Patrol said the crash happened around 1:30 p.m. on August 19 in the 4000 block of Highway 63 South. Smith Cerelus, 52, of Green Acres, Florida, was stopped facing north on Highway 63 waiting to turn into a driveway when Kongkeo Nhangphayboun, 55, of St. Petersburg, Florida, struck the back of his truck. Emergency crews had to use hydraulic rescue tools to extricate one of the drivers from the wreckage.
Nhangphayboun was airlifted to Mercy Hospital in Des Moines for treatment. Cerelus was transported by ambulance to Ottumwa Regional Health Center. Both were wearing seatbelts. The extent of their injuries was not released.
Highway 63 was reopened at approximately 5:22 p.m. after the scene was cleared.
Assisting agencies included the Ottumwa Police Department, Iowa State Patrol, Wapello County Rural Fire Department, Wapello County Emergency Management Agency, ORMICS, MercyOne Air Med, Deran’s Towing, and the Iowa Department of Transportation.
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