One of two Jasper County teens injured in a vehicle-semi accident last week has died. Kylie M. Leavens, 16, of Newton died Thursday afternoon at Blank Children’s Hospital in Des Moines. Funeral services are pending at Wallace Family Funeral Home. Several deputies and officers responded to the two-vehicle accident just before 8:30 a.m. March 27. Officials determined the driver of a 1994 Mazda, 19-year-old Carah A. Leavens of Kellogg, was traveling west on Highway 6 just east of Highway T12 when she lost control of her vehicle on the slushy roadway and drove head-on into the path of an eastbound semi-trailer driven by 59-year-old Kenneth W. Hinds of Grinnell. Kylie Leavens was airlifted from the scene of the accident to Blank Children’s Hospital, where she later died. Her sister Carah was transported to Skiff Medical Center and treated for back pain, according to John Easley, public relations director at Skiff. She was released from the hospital several days later. Authorities remained at the accident site for about two hours. The incident remains under investigation. Kylie Leavens was a sophomore at Basics and Beyond Alternative High School, where she had attended classes for the last seven months, Newton Senior High School Principal Bill Peters said. Peters added students at NHS were informed of Leavens’ death and a counselor is available at the school to talk to students. Peters said learning of Leavens’ death was difficult. “It’s definitely a tragedy. She was a nice girl and had a lot of friends over here,” he said.
Staff Writer Jessica Lowe contributed to this report.