Fatal accident occurs at well-traveled intersection, brings up need for traffic signals

A popular intersection in Osceola became the site of a fatal accident.

The accident occurred 10:58 a.m. Tuesday, April 19, at the intersection of Highway 34 and Southwest Boulevard. This is commonly known as the turnoff for the BP gas station and Wal-Mart.

Joyce Roshto, 78, of Villisca, a passenger in one of the vehicles, was first transported to Clarke County Hospital. She was then transported to a hospital in Des Moines, where she later died.

The accident

According to a Osceola Police Department report, there were two vehicles in the accident. Nyoka Parks, 67, of Murray was driving a 2012 Suzuki four-door and Garie Holland, 55, of Osceola was driving a 2011 Ford.

Holland was driving east on Highway 34, approaching the Southwest Boulevard intersection. Parks was driving west on Highway 34 and attempting to turn left onto Southwest Boulevard.

Parks didn’t see the oncoming traffic and turned left in front of Holland’s vehicle, causing a collision.

Parks, Holland and Roshto were transported to Clarke County Hospital. Parks was charged with failure to yield upon making a left turn.

Similar accident

A similar accident was also reported at this intersection Wednesday, March 30.

During an Osceola City Council meeting April 19, the council inquired about putting traffic signals at the intersection of Highway 34 and Southwest Boulevard.

Though it is a well-traveled intersection, Osceola Police Chief Marty Duffus said the city doesn’t average an accident there a day, week or even a month. However, it just so happens there have been similar accidents in the course of a few weeks.

The April 19 accident is the same scenario as the March 30 accident with vehicles attempting to make a left turn at the intersection.

Getting traffic signals

When Wal-Mart was built on the west side of Osceola years ago, city officials asked Iowa Department of Transportation (DOT) to put in a traffic signal.

“The DOT is an organization that is driven strictly by number,” Duffus said during the council meeting. “And, the numbers they look at are, of course, the numbers of vehicles that roll through the intersection and the number of accidents you have and the type of accidents you have. And, prior to Walmart, we didn’t have very many at all.”

Duffus said, at the time, the city didn’t meet the DOT’s criteria for traffic signals, and if traffic accidents increased, it would be dealt with in the future.

It appears the future is now. Duffus has been in contact with Ty Wheeler, city administrator/clerk, to get in contact with the DOT again about the traffic signal issue.

“They will put them in, just so you know,” Duffus said. “They will put them in, but it’s going to cost the city about a quarter of a million bucks to do it. Because, they’ll do it at your expense, unless they want to do it. If it meets their criteria, they’ll do it for free and hand it over to you. Or, they’ll put it in and send you the bill.”