It's still too early to tell whether Justin Dies will fully recover after being struck by an accused drunken driver Sunday in Baldwin, Iowa, his sister-in-law, Brooke Dies, told the TH Tuesday.
"It's so new and the doctors just don't know," she said from her home in Blue Grass, Iowa. "He was just an all-around good guy. He was a hard worker. That's what makes it so hard. He wasn't doing anything wrong; he wasn't instigating anything."
Justin Dies, 33, of Dubuque, was hit by a truck shortly before 9:30 p.m., on Iowa 64 in Baldwin, according to the Jackson County Sheriff's Department.
Police stopped Steven Dunn, 22, of rural Bellevue, one mile west of Maquoketa on Iowa 64 after he drove several miles from the scene of the accident, according to the report. He was arrested on charges of driving while intoxicated, leaving the scene of a personal injury accident and causing serious injury by vehicle.
As of Tuesday, officials with the Jackson County Sheriff's Department said they are treating the case as unintentional but that Dunn was aware he had hit someone when police pulled him over. Dunn has since been released from custody, and the investigation is ongoing, authorities said.
According to Iowa court documents, Dunn has been issued at least three speeding tickets in Iowa, including one for speeding more than 45 miles per hour over the limit, two citations for having an open container of alcohol as a passenger in a vehicle and two citations for careless driving.
Dies was transported to the Jackson County Regional Health Center in Maquoketa and then transferred to University Hospitals and Clinics in Iowa City. Hospital officials declined to comment on the extent of his injuries, but Brooke Dies said that he was in critical condition Tuesday.
He has multiple injuries, and though Dies isn't able to talk yet, he responds to people in the room, she said.
Dies has a pre-teen daughter and works at Giese Cos. in Dubuque, Brooke Dies said.
