Lang/Hunter
03/09/21
Cedar Rapids police have identified the person who was killed in an accident on I380 near Cedar Rapids early Sunday.
Officers were called to a two-vehicle accident near the 7th Street exit just after 2am. Investigators discovered a Chevy Suburban with four occupants had been hit by a truck with one occupant. A passenger in the front seat of the SUV was pronounced dead at the scene. He’s been identified as 23-year-old David Nguyen of Cedar Rapids.
The Suburban’s driver has been identified as 20-year-old Rylee Wallingford of Cedar Rapids. She remains hospitalized with serious injuries at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics. The Gazette reports that Wallingford and Nguyen had been dating for about five months. The other two passengers have been identified as 23-year-old Benjamin Brecht and 22-year-old Skyler McDowell, both of Cedar Rapids.
The driver of the truck, a Ford F150, was traveling south in the northbound lanes of I380 and struck the Suburban. He’s been identified as 34-year-old Tyler Lee of Rockton, Illinois. He reportedly suffered non-life threatening injuries. It’s unclear at this time how long Lee had been traveling the wrong way on the interstate.
The Cedar Rapids Gazette reports that Lee is a defendant in a case out of Winnebago County. He’s been charged with first-degree murder and 11 other offenses stemming from a 2017 fatal shooting in Love’s Park, near Rockford. Bail was set at a million dollars, and court records show ten percent of his bail was posted. He was released pending court proceedings.
The Sunday accident shut down northbound lanes of traffic for over three hours; the investigation is ongoing.
The Sunday accident shut down northbound lanes of traffic for over three hours; the investigation is ongoing.