The highway patrol reports a Lineville teenager was killed Sunday night in a head-on collision on Highway 65 three miles to the north of Princeton with a second teenager injured in the accident just past 9:30 Sunday night.
The patrol said 18-year-old Saige Boswell of Lineville, Iowa was pronounced dead at the scene by Mercer County Deputy Sheriff Jimmy See and 16-year-old Elijah Mandich of Mount Moriah received what the highway patrol called serious injuries. He was transported by Mercer County Ambulance then flown by a medical helicopter to the Iowa Methodist Medical Center.
Mandich was driving a pickup truck south on Highway 65 while Miss Boswell was operating a northbound sports utility vehicle. Investigators said Mandich moved into the northbound lane while attempting to pass another vehicle. The impact with the truck and SUV occurred in the northbound lane. Both vehicles were demolished.
The report noted Saige Boswell was using her seat belt while it was unknown last night whether Mandich was using a safety device.
Saige Boswell is the first traffic fatality this year in Mercer County investigated by the highway patrol.
All nine Green Hills counties have experienced at least one traffic fatality since the first of the year with a total of 14 traffic deaths in 2017.
