Iowa State Patrol said the teen driver "failed to negotiate a curve" before hitting a truck head on.
PANORA, Iowa — A teen driver is dead and a child was life-flighted with serious injuries Saturday evening following a Guthrie County crash.
According to an Iowa State Patrol crash report, a car driven by 17-year-old Savannah Matthias was traveling westbound on Highway 44 near Panora shortly before 5 p.m. Her father, Michael Montafia, told Local 5 that the Panorama High School senior was headed to her boyfriend’s house.
After failing to negotiate a curve on the highway, west of Willow Ave., the crash report says the car crossed into the eastbound lane and hit a truck head on. Matthias was declared dead on scene.
“I have three more children that now I have to sit here and face," Montafia said. "I don't know how to counsel my three other children about what happened to their sister.”
Saturday evening, Montafia, who now lives in Pennsylvania, got the news from a family friend.
“I freaked out, like she's my oldest child, like I lost control of myself," Montafia said. "I never ever thought I was going to hear that come from someone's mouth.”
Matthias had just been accepted into her dream school, Iowa State University, to study veterinary science.
“When she was in elementary school, middle school, she had wanted to be a marine biologist," Montafia said. "Then she just kind of went a different route, but still wanted to work with animals.”
Matthias had big goals in life, and now she won’t even be able to graduate from high school.
“I just want people to know that my daughter was a loving, caring girl, like my daughter loved life," Montafia said. "This didn't need to happen.”
A child riding in the truck was life-flighted to a Des Moines hospital with "suspected serious injuries." The driver of the truck, and a second child riding with, sustained minor injuries, ISP said.