Greene man killed in Avenue of the Saints accident at Floyd Wednesday morning

By Bob Steenson, bsteenson@charlescitypress.com

A Greene man has been identified as the person killed in a two-vehicle accident at the main Avenue of the Saints interchange in Floyd Wednesday morning.

A report by the Iowa State Patrol says that a 2017 Ford Fusion was traveling east on Highway 18/27 at about 5:30 a.m. when it rear-ended a 2012 Volvo semi-tractor trailer at the intersection of Highway 18 and Highway 218/Quarry Avenue.

The driver of the Ford Fusion, Troy Reams, age 39, of Greene, was pronounced dead at the scene, the Patrol says. The driver of the semi, Stasys Sabaliauskis, age 58, of Burbank, Illinois, was not injured.

The Floyd intersection at Highway 18 and Highway 218/Quarry Road — the truck stop intersection in Floyd — has been the scene of numerous accidents over the years, including the death of a young Charles City man in 2016.

Residents of Floyd petitioned the state Department of Transportation to change the intersection from the current stop-sign-controlled at-grade intersection to an overpass that would provide on-ramps and off-ramps to allow vehicles to merge with Avenue traffic at highway speeds.

The Iowa Department of Transportation announced last year that it will build an overpass at the intersection. Work on the $18 million project is expected to begin with right-of-way purchase in 2021 and primary construction in 2022.

Responding at the scene of the accident Wednesday morning in addition to the State Patrol were the Floyd County Sheriff’s Office, Floyd Fire/Rescue, AMR Ambulance Service and Iowa DOT Enforcement.