PHOTO COURTESY OF TAMA COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE

TRAER – A Waterloo woman who had just finished a shift last Saturday morning at Westbrook Acres in Gladbrook suffered serious injuries as the result of a single-vehicle crash along US 63 north of Traer.

According to the accident report, Sairheya Pernell, 23, of Waterloo was driving a 2006 silver Chevrolet Equinox at a high rate of speed northbound in the 1200 block of US 63 just before 6:30 a.m. on Saturday, June 28, when she first ran off the road to the right (east) along a curve. She then overcorrected, crossing the centerline in the process to end up on the left shoulder. Overcorrecting a second time led to a rollover.

The speed limit in the area is 55 mph.

“The vehicle rolled multiple times while remaining on the roadway, striking both the northbound and southbound shoulders before coming to rest on the road,” Tama County Sheriff Casey Schmidt wrote as part of a June 29 news release following the accident. “The driver was not wearing a seatbelt and was ejected from the vehicle.”

Per the accident report, Pernell is believed to have been ejected through the sunroof of the vehicle which was totaled. “Speed and negligent vehicle operation are believed to be factors of the accident,” the responding deputy wrote in the report; Pernell suffered “obvious serious injury” that “may be life threatening.”

Pernell was transported by Traer Ambulance to MercyOne Waterloo Medical Center before later being airlifted by helicopter to the University of Iowa.

While there were no witnesses to the accident, the reporting party communicated to Tama County dispatchers they had observed the vehicle “a few minutes prior driving north from Traer on Highway 63 at a high rate of speed,” per the accident report.

Along with area residents, responding agencies included the Tama County Sheriff’s Office, Black Hawk County Sheriff’s Office, Traer Ambulance, and the Traer Fire Department.