News : Accident on B Avenue Results in fatal injury

In a press release from Vinton Police Chief Ted Paxton, he stated that on "June 9, 2023, at around 3:05 PM, Vinton Police Officers were dispatched to the 1300 Block of B Avenue for a male subject that had been injured involving construction equipment. 61 Year old male, Ronald Dean Preece of Cedar Falls, Iowa, had been crushed between the rear of a dump truck and the back end of a tracked skid steer.

The operator of the skid steer did not see Preece who was standing at the left rear of the dump truck adjusting the dump gate chain at the time. The operator of the skid steer was in the process of leveling the gravel when the skid steer backed into Preece, pinning him between the dump truck and the skid steer. Preece was transported to Virginia Gay Hospital Emergency Room where he succumbed to his injuries.

The accident is still under investigation by the Vinton Police Department and Occupational Safety and Health Administration(OSHA). Preece at the time was a dump truck driver for the company that was contracted to do the B Avenue utility work.

The Vinton Police Department was assisted by North Benton Ambulance and Vinton Fire Department."

Arends Excavating of Waterloo, was just awarded the contract for the work on B Ave. last month by the city for a sanitary sewer extension.