3 teenage girls injured in accident near Bellevue

By Sheri Melvold | Tuesday, November 28, 2006

BELLEVUE, Iowa — Three teenage girls were injured in a one-vehicle accident Sunday night near Bellevue, where one of the girls was thrown through the back window of the car.

The driver, Ashley Danielle Claussen, 16, of Bellevue, along with passengers, Brienna Lee Junk, 15, of Bellevue and Michelle Lynn Devens, 15, of Bellevue were taken by Bellevue Ambulance to Mercy Hospital-Clinton. Devens was thrown out of the rear window of the car. Their conditions were not available, but the deputy’s report listed them having as possible injuries.

Jackson County deputy Russ Long charged Claussen with failure to maintain control.

He said Claussen was driving south on U.S. 52, three miles south of Bellevue at 7:07 p.m. Sunday when she swerved and panic-braked to “allegedly miss an animal on the roadway.” The vehicle went down a deep ditch, spun and hit the bottom.

Damage was listed at $3,500 to her 1997 Pontiac Grand Am.