Fatal accident in Iowa: 3 dead identified

SUSPECT. So, three people are dead after a crash last night west of Ankeny in rural Polk County. Officials say one car missed a stop sign and sideswiped the other. KCCI Beau Bowman is live tonight at the intersection where it happened. Yes. Laura Jodi, the skid marks on the road here. Tell us what happened at the intersection of Enterprise Road and Northeast 46. But it's the markers in the ditch that show us the bottom line: Along Northeast 46th Street marks the spot where three people were killed in a crash Sunday night. THE POLK COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE SAYS A CAR HEADING NORTH TOWARDS ELKHART MISSED A STOP SIGN AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS. T-BONING, ANOTHER CAR HEADING EAST ON ENTERPRISE ROAD. FIRST IT LOOKS LIKE SPEEDING, AND THEN THERE'S A STOP SIGN THERE IN NORTH-SOUTH TRAFFIC, AND IT LOOKS LIKE THE NORTHBOUND VEHICLE ACTUALLY MISSED THAT STOP SIGN. OFFICIALS SAY IT HAPPENED JUST BEFORE 8:00 PM SUNDAY NIGHT. TIRE TRACKS ALONG THE HIGHWAY MARKED THE TRAIL OF DEVASTATMENT. THE CARS ROLLED INTO THIS FIELD WHERE THE BONDURANT FIRE DEPARTMENT SAYS ONE VEHICLE WAS UPside Down AND ON FIRE. AND IT LOOKS LIKE ONE OF THE VEHICLES' ENGINES, A WHITE CAR, WAS ON FIRE IN THE BRUSH AND A FIELD ASTOR WAS SAVED. CAN YOU ADD THE MOTOR AND A SECOND AMBULANCE TO THAT? ALL THREE PEOPLE, ONE IN THE CAR THAT RUN THE STOP SIGN AND TWO IN THE CAR THAT WAS HIT, DIED AT THE CRASH SCENE. THAT'S UNBELIEVABLE BECAUSE THE HIGHWAY SPEEDS ARE OUT THERE. SO OVER 55, WHEN THERE'S AN ACCIDENT, IT'S USUALLY NOT A GOOD ONE. ON MONDAY, POLK COUNTY MEDICAL EXAMINATION DEPUTY WERE BACK AT THE INTERSECTION CONTINUING THEIR INVESTIGATION. THEY STILL DON'T KNOW WHY THE DRIVER, WHO WAS GOING NORTH, RUN THE STOP SIGN. I haven't received any information about this happening so early, but again, really early, it just happened last night. I know they've been out there taking measurements and stuff, but they're going to work on getting all that information together. The Polk County Sheriff's Office has not released the names of the victims yet. They plan to do that tomorrow.

3 people killed in Polk County crash identified

Authorities have identified the three people killed in a crash near Ankeny on Sunday night.Previous video above: Driver missed a stop sign before fatal crash, officials sayThe Polk County Sheriff's Office said a car traveling north on Northeast 46th Street toward Elkhart missed a stop sign at highway speeds and struck the side of another car traveling east on Enterprise Road.”Initially, it looked like there was actually a stop sign there because of the speed and traffic going north-south and it looked like the northbound vehicle missed that stop sign,” said Capt. Ryan Evans of the Polk County Sheriff's Office.All three people — one in the car that missed the stop sign and two in the car that was struck — died at the scene of the crash.Chad Allen Dittmer, 16, of Elkhart, was identified as the northbound driver. Kolby Joseph Drees, 38, of Bondurant, was driving the eastbound vehicle, and Sara Elizabeth Tourte, 34, of Altoona, was identified as his passenger. The Polk County Sheriff's Office is still investigating the crash. Preliminary findings indicate speed was a contributing factor in the crash, the sheriff's office said. » Download the free KCCI app to get updates on the go: Apple | Google PlayGet the latest headlines from KCCI

ANKENY, Iowa —

Authorities have determined the identities of three people killed in a car crash near Ankeny on Sunday evening.

Previous video above: Driver ignored stop sign before fatal crash, officials say

The Polk County Sheriff's Office said a car traveling north on Northeast 46th Street toward Elkhart disregarded a stop sign while traveling at a high rate of speed on the highway and struck the side of another car traveling east on Enterprise Road.

“Initially it looked like it was going too fast and that northbound and southbound traffic had a stop sign there, and it looked like the northbound vehicle missed that stop sign,” said Captain Ryan Evans of the Polk County Sheriff's Office.

All three people – one in the car that ignored the stop sign and two in the car that was hit – died at the scene.

Chad Allen Dittmer, 16, of Elkhart, was identified as the northbound driver. Kolby Joseph Drees, 38, of Bondurant, was driving the eastbound vehicle and Sara Elizabeth Tourte, 34, of Altoona, was identified as his passenger.