–A Hancock County man was behind the wheel when a firefighter was struck by a vehicle while assisting at an accident scene along US Highway 18 near Ventura Wednesday evening.
According to the Iowa State Patrol, 66-year-old Kevin Berry of Britt was traveling on Highway 18 in a 2015 Ford Escape just after 5:30 PM Wednesday when he entered an emergency scene just west of Balsam Avenue. Ventura Firefighters were directing traffic on the roadway at the time following an accident that had occurred about 30 minutes before.
The accident report states that as Berry was traveling through the crash scene, his vehicle struck one of the firefighters, who had to be transported to Mercy One North Iowa Medical Center in Mason City for treatment of injuries. Berry continued through the emergency scene and was eventually stopped just down the road by police in Clear Lake.
The accident remains under investigation. Officials have now identified the injured firefighter as 53-year-old Charles Shopshire of Ventura. Shopshire’s injuries were described as non-life threatening.
