A wooden cross and flowers located at the intersection of South Canfield and Dubuque roads east of Raymond in Black Hawk County marks the spot of a fatal accident that took place on the evening of Tuesday, Sept. 10. PHOTO BY RUBY F. MCALLISTER

LA PORTE CITY – It has been 10 days since Union High School senior Gavin Rohrbach lost his life, and two of his friends – senior Evan Hanus and junior Keegan Brooks – were severely injured in a car accident east of the town of Raymond. And while much remains unanswered about the moments leading up to the accident which involved the car the students were riding in broadsiding another vehicle after running a stop sign, this much is clear – the greater La Porte City/Dysart/Traer communities are determined to wrap the boys and their families in as much prayer, love, and generosity as they possibly can.

On the morning following the crash – which occurred at roughly 9:45 p.m. on Sept. 10 at the intersection of Dubuque and South Canfield roads in east central Black Hawk County – Union Superintendent John Howard sent a letter to families.

“It is with tremendous sadness that I share this update with you,” Howard began. “Last night, multiple Union students were involved in an auto accident returning from the volleyball game at Oelwein. …”

Traveling home from the Oelwein-Union game together that evening in a 2013 Nissan Pathfinder were Brayden Bohnsack, 18, of La Porte City; Evan Hanus, 17, of La Porte City; Justice Luke, 17, of Buckingham; Gavin Rohrbach, 17, of La Porte City; and Keegan Brooks, 16, of Traer. While all five were Union High School students, Brooks, a junior, had just transferred into the district from neighboring North Tama.

As part of his letter to families, Howard asked that the public “keep the impacted families, as well as our entire Knight community, in your thoughts during this extraordinarily difficult time.”

While both Luke, who was driving the Pathfinder, and Bohnsack experienced minor injuries and were released to their parents following the accident, both Hanus and Brooks were transported by ambulance to Waterloo hospitals and later transferred to the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics. Pamela Euans, 53, of Hazleton – the driver of the 2005 Buick Rendezvous that Luke hit while crossing the intersection – was lifeflighted by University of Iowa AirCare to Iowa City.

On Wednesday, local online fundraisers were started for both the Hanus and Brooks families to help with medical bills, travel expenses and other necessities that may arise due to the accident.

A Meal Train fundraiser was also started for the family of Rohrbach (https://www.mealtrain.com/trains/97gk96).

As of this past Monday, the fundraiser for Rohrbach had raised close to $30,000 of its $32,000 goal, while Hanus’ fundraiser (https://www.gofundme.com/f/pncp3m-support-evans-road-to-recovery) had raised nearly $11,000 of its $12,000 goal. Brooks’ two fundraisers had raised close to $12,000 and more than $10,000 for his maternal (https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-keegans-road-to-recovery) and paternal (https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-keegan-brooks-long-road-to-recovery) sides of the family, respectively.

In an update on her son’s health posted to Facebook on Friday, Sept. 13, Hanus’ mother Holly Fell wrote: “I want to extend a heartfelt thank you to each and every one of you for the incredible love and support you’ve shown us during these challenging days. Your kindness means the world to us! I’m happy to share that Evan is making wonderful progress – he was happy to be able to eat and drink yesterday, which is a fantastic sign. We are hopeful that he will be released after his knee surgery this afternoon.”

She further stated, “As we continue down this path of recovery, please keep everyone involved in your thoughts and prayers. The journey to healing, both physically and mentally, will take time, but with your support, we know we can get through it. Thank you once again from the bottom of my heart for your love, generosity, and encouragement. It truly makes a difference!”

On Saturday, Brooks’ father Cole Johnson also posted an update about his son, writing on Facebook: “Keegan got taken out of sedation for a short period to have a quick neurological exam and was able to move his arms and his head and squeeze his hands. After the exam, he was sedated again to regulate his levels with a reduced amount of sedatives. While recovering from being sedated he made several motions with his arms, moved his head and wiggled his toes. He has also opened his eyes twice. He will be getting an MRI to help answer more questions.”

Johnson ended his post by stating, “While we are still waiting for results we are taking these as promising signs. Please continue with prayers and positive thoughts for everyone. The generosity and love are certainly felt.”

In addition to the core online fundraisers to support the three families, Harper’s Public House in downtown Dysart donated 10% of their total sales over the weekend to the families while also collecting donations including gift cards and gas cards.

“When a tragedy hits a community, especially one like the UNION community, people want to know how to help,” Harper’s owner Jenna Scott wrote on Facebook. “If you didn’t know, our Harper’s family includes several teenagers, high schoolers, teachers and paras. While there isn’t a lot we can do, there are certain things we CAN! We can FEED people! We can BE SOMEWHERE where people can get together! We can COLLECT donations! So, THAT is what we will do! … Please help us show that the community is behind these kids, their teammates, their classmates, their friends, families, loved ones…show them that they are not alone and we will help hold them up when they need the support!”

Organizers of the 2024 KWC (Knights Wrestling Club) Dick Ingvall Annual Golf Tournament also elected to earmark proceeds from the Sept. 14 event to the families.

“After discussion with our senior leaders Jace and Brayden, we are still planning on having our annual wrestling golf tournament fundraiser, but now the proceeds will honor their classmate and to help the families with their expenses,” Union head wrestling coach Bart Mehlert wrote on Facebook. “This is a small gesture of support. We are all one big family at the U!”

In an effort meant to further wrap those affected by the tragedy in love, the Union High School Class of 2025 held a sunset memorial/candlelight vigil on Friday, Sept. 13, at Union Stadium in La Porte City to honor Rohrbach, a member of their graduating class.

The Union Booster Club also held a fundraiser for the Rohrbach family by printing ‘The 12th Man’ shirts in honor of Gavin’s Union Knights football jersey number, No. 12.

“Our sweet grandson. He was so loved and loved us all back!” Rohrbach’s grandmother Mary Monroe wrote on Facebook. “We know he is safe in heaven with family who went before him and has probably already found a basketball or football to throw around and a kitty to befriend.”

Services for Rohrbach were held at American Lutheran Church in La Porte City this past Wednesday followed by a public Celebration of Life service at the high school.

“Gavin is remembered as a kind soul. He was sweet, thoughtful, caring, polite, funny and loved by all who had the pleasure of knowing him,” Rohrbach’s obituary reads, in part. “He was a cherished son, a devoted big brother and a dependable friend everyone would be lucky to have.”

The accident

According to a report released by the Black Hawk County Sheriff’s Office following the Sept. 10 accident, Justice Luke was the driver of the 2013 Nissan Pathfinder in which Rohrbach, Bohnsack, Hanus, and Brooks were passengers.

The accident happened around 9:45 p.m. that evening at the intersection of South Canfield Road and Dubuque Road – a rural area that lies east of the town of Raymond in east central Black Hawk County. Both roads have 55 mph speed limits.

The intersection is surrounded by agricultural fields. Drivers on South Canfield Road – the road on which Luke’s vehicle was traversing south that evening – are required to stop at a stop sign at the Dubuque intersection. Before the intersection, drivers from the north encounter a set of railroad tracks followed by three sets of rumble strips before arriving at the flashing stop sign.

According to investigating deputies, while Luke was driving, Hanus was seated in the front passenger seat, Bohnsack was seated in the second row behind the driver, Brooks was seated in the second row in the middle, and Rohrbach was seated in the second row behind the front passenger seat.

Seatbelt use by Rohrbach, Bohnsack, and Brooks is listed as unknown in the report, while Luke and Hanus are both listed as using shoulder and lap belts.

As Luke traveled southbound on South Canfield Road, deputies wrote, he arrived at the intersection with Dubuque Road where he failed to stop at the stop sign. He continued driving through the intersection and subsequently hit driver Pamela Euans’ 2005 Buick Rendezvous as she was traveling west toward Raymond. A diagram included in the report indicates Luke’s front left side broadsided Euans’ front right side. Both vehicles then exited the roadway and came to rest in the southwest ditch and nearby field.

When deputies arrived on scene, all but Rohrbach were observed outside the Pathfinder. Both Luke and Bohnsack displayed minor injuries, while Hanus and Brooks were receiving treatment from responding emergency crews. First responders that night included the Jesup Police Dept., Dunkerton Fire and Ambulance, Jesup Fire and Ambulance, and Waterloo Fire and Ambulance.

Rohrbach was not responding and was trapped inside the vehicle; firefighters were eventually able to free him and began CPR. Roughly one hour after the accident, deputies were informed Rohrbach had passed away.

According to the report, Luke told a deputy ‘he ran the stop sign and that he was worried about his friends and the other driver.’

Euans, the second driver, was pinned in her vehicle and had to be removed by firefighters. After becoming unresponsive, she was lifeflighted to Iowa City. Her condition as of press time is unknown.

July 3 accident

Back on July 3, 2024, Luke was involved in a multi-vehicle accident at the intersection of East Reinbeck Road and Highway 218 N just west of La Porte City in front of Dollar General.

According to the July 3 accident report which was obtained by the newspaper from the La Porte City Police Dept. through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, Police Chief Chris Brecher responded to the accident just after 1:30 p.m. that day. Upon arriving on scene, he found two vehicles blocking the southbound lane of traffic on US 218 and a third vehicle – Luke’s vehicle, a 2012 Dodge Avenger – located approximately 100 yards to the north on the shoulder of the highway.

Both drivers of the vehicles located on the road were injured and were eventually transported by ambulance to local hospitals.

In the accident report, Chief Brecher noted that Luke had “no pain complaints and was more concerned with how the other drivers were doing.”

The report indicates that Luke’s vehicle, driving in a 55 mph zone, made contact with one of the vehicles, a 2020 Nissan Rogue, on the highway as the driver attempted to turn left onto East Reinbeck Road. After striking the back right side of the Nissan Rogue which pushed it into the path of an oncoming 2004 Buick Park Avenue Ultra, Luke’s vehicle traveled another 80 yards past the collision before making it to the shoulder, according to the report.

“I was unable to see skid marks on the ground where the impact took place,” Brecher wrote.

While Luke told Brecher that he did brake and tried to get onto the shoulder, he was ultimately unable to avoid the impact.

“[Luke] stated that he was not on his phone multiple times and reiterated that he was powering on his radio.”

Luke’s vehicle was totaled by the accident, as were the other two vehicles involved.

On July 8, Luke was issued two citations stemming from the accident including one for failure to maintain control and another for failure to stop in assured clear distance. He pleaded guilty to both counts and was fined a total of $285.

The accident that took place on Tuesday, Sept. 10, continues to be investigated by the Black Hawk County Sheriff’s Office. In an email to the newspaper, Chief Deputy Mark Herbst said the Sept. 10 crash was “very complex” and would “take time to put the case together.”