A northeast Missouri motorist is facing two criminal charges after being accused of triggering a mid-November 2023 crash that killed a southeast Iowa man.
In the death of Ron Craver, 63, of rural Bloomfield, Iowa, Galen Zimmerman, 19, of Memphis, is charged with felony first-degree involuntary manslaughter.
The fatal accident occurred on November 16, 2023, two and a half miles north of Downing on Schuyler County Route N.
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According to prosecution filings, Zimmerman informed a state trooper on the scene that he crossed into the opposing lane of traffic and collided head-on with an approaching van.
Craver was driving the van, according to the patrol officer on the site the day of the incident.
Craver was declared deceased on the scene.
Zimmerman was airlifted to a hospital in Columbia with significant injuries, including a shattered leg.
According to court papers, Zimmerman informed the trooper immediately after the crash that he had looked down at his mobile phone, which was on the center console, and then crossed the center line, hitting Craver’s van.
Zimmerman is also charged with a misdemeanor of negligent and imprudent driving that resulted in an accident.
On Wednesday afternoon, the defendant made his first court appearance in a Schuyler County courthouse.