Police said an Elizabeth, Illinois man was watching a DVD while driving when he collided with a wrong-way driver in Des Moines.
Brandon Anderson, 25, of Des Moines, Iowa was reportedly driving eastbound in the westbound lanes of Interstate 80/35 near Ankeny when his car hit one driven by 53-year-old Kevin O’Sullivan of Elizabeth. It happened at about 1 a.m. Tuesday, October 2, 2012.
Both men were killed in the crash.
O’Sullivan’s brother, Mark O’Sullivan, said Kevin was a home remodeling company salesman who hoped to eventually open his own remodeling business in the Elizabeth area. Kevin was traveling to San Antonio to see his oldest son and daughter-in-law who were expecting their first child.
WHO reports investigators said Anderson had been drinking the night of the crash, and that O’Sullivan was apparently watching a DVD while driving. The DVD was reportedly still playing when emergency crews arrived at the crash scene.
Mark O’Sullivan said his brother often carried DVDs in his car as part of Kevin’s ministry work. Mark said many of those DVDs contained audio only.
The Altoona Herald reports at least two other cars managed to avoid colliding with Anderson, who likely drove the wrong way on the highway for more than two miles before the crash.
Investigators said there was no evidence that O’Sullivan or Anderson slowed down or took any evasive action to avoid the crash.