Search warrants reveal new details in Keokuk County hayride crash

WHAT CHEER, Iowa (KCCI) - Search warrants reveal new details about a hayride crash near What Cheer last month.

The crash happened during an adult-organized event for Sigourney seventh-grade students. Though it was for the students, it was not a school sanctioned event.

Twenty-nine children were on the ride, and three of them went to the hospital after the crash.

Investigators said Daniel Brubaker was driving the pickup truck that was pulling the gooseneck trailer.

They said they believe data from the cellphones of Brubaker and Keokuk County Deputy David Heady Junior, who was a passenger in the vehicle, could shed light on what led to the crash.

Investigators are still working to pull the data from the phones from that night.

Court documents say Brubaker lost control of the vehicle, going into the ditch. All the kids were thrown from the trailer.

One parent said a tracking app she has for her son showed the ride was going too fast, at speeds of up to 25 mph.

The search warrant says Brubaker left the scene before first responders arrived, and Heady was “highly intoxicated when law enforcement arrived.”

Heady has since resigned.

Neither Brubaker nor Heady face criminal charges at this time.

People who were there have continued to call for accountability since the crash happened.

One family has filed a lawsuit, saying their 12-year-old daughter received “life-altering injuries” in the crash.

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