Two injured in crash involving tractor and truck on Avenue south of Charles City

By Bob Steenson, bsteenson@charlescitypress.com

Two drivers were injured Friday morning in a crash involving a box truck and a farm tractor and planter on the Avenue of the Saints southeast of Charles City.

According to the Iowa State Patrol, the crash occurred around 8:10 a.m. in the northbound lane of Iowa Highway 27/U.S. Highway 218.

William Joseph Ruzicka, 54, of Charles City, was northbound driving a John Deere tractor pulling a planter, when the planter was struck by a northbound 2024 Ford F650 box truck, operated by Trevor Daniel Winfrey, 37, of Rockwell.

The collision caused the tractor to spin, enter the east ditch and overturn, ejecting Ruzicka, the State Patrol report said.

The truck also left the roadway and came to rest upright in the ditch.

Both men were initially transported by AMR ambulance to Floyd County Medical Center

The report indicates Winfrey was wearing a seatbelt, while Ruzicka was not.

According to the Iowa State Patrol report, the box truck is registered to United Postal Service Inc. of Des Moines.

The accident occurred about 1 mile southeast of the southern Charles City city limits.

A Facebook post by the Ruzicka family says that Bill Ruzicka is in critical care at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics.

A CaringBridge page has been started to provide updates on his condition, and a gofundme page has been started to help with near-term expenses.

The Floyd County Sheriff’s Office, Charles City Police, Charles City Fire Department and AMR ambulance assisted at the scene.

Both northbound lanes were initially closed after the accident, then the left, inside lane was reopened for northbound traffic. The right, outside lane of the highway was closed for a couple of hours while Chatfield Towing of Floyd removed the vehicles and the scene was cleaned up. Traffic then began moving again in both northbound lanes.

The crash remains under investigation by the Iowa State Patrol.

— Editor’s note: An earlier version of this story incorrectly identified the box truck as a U.S. Postal Service truck.