DAVENPORT — A mother of four is dead, with her husband and son seriously injured, after colliding with a semi-truck in foggy weather, Iowa officials and family say.
A pickup truck crashed into a big rig as it was pulling out of a business and turning onto a street in Bettendorf on Friday, October 24, the police department said in a news release. A 43-year-old woman died at the scene, and a 41-year-old man and 9-year-old child were taken to hospitals for treatment, police said.
The semi-truck driver was not injured, according to police.
“Our hearts go out to the family and friends of those involved in this tragedy,” Police Chief Doug Scott said. “Our investigation is not completed, but preliminarily we believe the lack of visibility caused by the fog was a major contributing factor.”
The occupants of the truck were Joel and Jaime Zank, and their son Zander, KWQC reported. “
Jaime was the glue that held all of this together,” Joel Zank’s father, David Zank, told the outlet. “Jaime and Joel were made for each other.”
She “was such a beautiful soul, she was just a beautiful person,” he told the outlet. “She would dance. I’m not a dancer, but she’d always grab you and go, ‘Yeah, it’s time to dance.’”
Jaime Zank was a mother of three when she and Joel met in 2014, then had Zander together, according to a GoFundMe launched by David Zank.
“It was beautiful to watch a family coalesce around the addition of little Zander to the mix. He was an instant lightning rod, full of life and never to be ignored,” it read. “He seemed to complete this family as they all grew and moved forward.”
Joel, Jaime and Zander Zank were going deer hunting together in southern Iowa when the semi-truck pulled out in their path. Hidden by fog, they didn’t see it, and the driver of the big rig didn’t see them, the GoFundMe read.
Joel Zank suffered multiple broken bones and damage to his head and face. His son Zander’s “heart stopped,” and though he was resuscitated, he’s been non-responsive since, the fundraiser read.
“Four boys have lost their mother, and three are struggling mightily to make sense of all this,” it continued. “Joel will heal physically, but will never be the same as he blames himself for this tragedy.”
As of October 27, Zander was in a coma at University of Iowa hospital, KWQC reported.
By MITCHELL WILLETTS/The State
Mitchell Willetts is a real-time news reporter covering the central U.S. for McClatchy. He is a University of Oklahoma graduate and outdoors enthusiast living in Texas.
