Pat Hickson asked the driver to pull over, and he strained his eyes to peer through the trees.
"The chrome bumper caught my eye," he said.
Nearly blocked from sight by trees and shrubs, a vehicle was wrapped around a tree and pinned sideways, with the tree cutting across the laps of the driver and her passenger. Inside, Marilyn L. Blanchard, 64, and her husband, Theodore "Ted," 65, were alive. They had been trapped overnight.
"The fact that they were still yelling for help was amazing," said Arthur Allen, who was at the scene with Hickson.
Help arrived just after 8:30 a.m. Thursday, although the Dubuque couple had been trapped inside the car since about 10 p.m. Wednesday. Firefighters surrounded the car and freed the man at around 9 a.m. More than 12 hours after the car rolled off the highway, Marilyn Blanchard was freed from the car, where her legs were pinned under the crumpled dashboard.
The Blanchards were conscious and able to talk,
although they suffered broken limbs. Ted Blanchard was bleeding from his head and hanging nearly upside down in his seat belt. The couple was recovering Friday at The Finley Hospital.
Case to grand jury
After nearly 11 months of deliberation, Dubuque County Attorney Ralph Potter has decided to refer the shooting death of a Dyersville, Iowa, man to a grand jury -- a rare move in Dubuque County justice.
A request will be made next week to First Judicial District Chief Judge Jon C. Fister, of Waterloo, to send the investigation into the November 2008 death of 24-year-old David Herman to a grand jury, Potter told the Telegraph Herald on Friday.
"I don't want the people in Dubuque County to feel like we're hiding something," Potter said. "You look at a case after a while, and you get your own biases.
"I'm willing to listen to the citizens of this community."
Herman was shot and killed Nov. 29, 2008, outside of a Dyersville apartment complex.
A Dubuque locksmith, Christopher Leppert, 48, was identified by authorities as the shooter after he and Herman were involved in an altercation. Leppert was at the apartment complex to change locks on two apartments.
Potter anticipates the grand jury will start meeting in November. The grand jury decides whether there will be an indictment or criminal charges filed in the case.
Toy linked to crash
Authorities say a Muscatine, Iowa, man played with a McDonald's toy, rather than paying attention to the road, just before a fatal crash in February.
Brandon S. Reddick, 20, is charged with two counts of homicide by vehicle and two counts of serious injury by vehicle in a Feb. 15 crash on U.S. 52, near the line between Dubuque and Jackson counties. Each count involves reckless driving, according to a complaint unsealed Wednesday.
The complaint charges that Reddick steered with his knees while using his hands to play a video game toy that came out of a McDonald's Happy Meal. With his eyes off the road, he drifted over the line and collided head-on with another car, killing two passengers and seriously wounding the driver, records state. The passenger in Reddick's car also was seriously injured.
The driver of the other car, Kole Patters, was 15 at the time. His grandparents, Donald Weber, 71, and Mary Ann Weber, 66, were killed in the crash. Patters was airlifted to the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics in Iowa City.
Reddick's passenger, Krystal Clark, 18, was treated at Mercy Medical Center-Dubuque.
Deere wins in court
A U.S. District Court judge ruled in favor of Deere & Co. on Friday in a lawsuit involving the health care benefits for a group of retirees.
In his decision, District Court Judge Charles R. Wolle, of the Southern District of Iowa, said Deere stated plainly in benefit plan documents that it retained the right to amend, modify or terminate the plans.
An official with the group of retirees that led the class-action lawsuit against the heavy equipment maker said the judge "shortchanged" the plaintiffs.
The suit claimed "significant hardships and damage" were inflicted by the company's reduced health, dental and vision insurance benefits for the approximately 5,000 Flex Retiree Organization retirees. It demanded that health benefits be restored.
Deere had argued that it had the flexibility to make a change in benefit plans.
Mercy theft probed
Police are investigating a theft that they say could exceed $500,000 worth of equipment from Mercy Medical Center-Dubuque.
A staff member recently discovered the theft, which has been ongoing since 2006, according to a police report.
Dubuque Police Lt. Scott Baxter said investigators are exploring the possibility that it's an internal theft. They have identified a suspect but haven't made an arrest. According to the police report, the suspect is known to the hospital.
The stolen inventory includes medical equipment, such as IV pumps, lights and monitors. Some maintenance equipment also was stolen, including valves, pumps, alarms and thermostats, according to the police report. One possible motive might have been to resell the items, Baxter said.
Arena goal reached
Final approval on the last piece of funding for a new Dubuque ice arena passed Wednesday, moving the project to just a few weeks away from breaking ground.
Bob Woodward III, president of the nonprofit Dubuque Community Ice & Recreation Center Inc., announced Wednesday during a news conference at Mystique Casino that the Vision Iowa Board approved a $675,000 community attraction and tourism grant Wednesday morning.
The 66,000-square-foot, 3,200-seat Mystique Ice Center will be built on Chaplain Schmitt Island in the McAleece Sports Complex.
The center will be home to a United States Hockey League team. That team will replace the Dubuque ThunderBirds, who compete in a less-prestigious league.
Woodward stressed that the arena will host a myriad of ice-related activities.
Now that all the funding is in place for the $6.276 million project, Woodward said the project can move forward to a groundbreaking at 2 p.m. Monday, Nov. 2, at Chaplain Schmitt Island.
