Iowa City, IA (July 7, 2026) – Yanelli Camarena, 28, was killed early on Sunday, July 5, after being struck by two vehicles while standing in an eastbound lane on I-80 near mile marker 245, close to the Dodge Street exit in Iowa City. The crash occurred at approximately 1 a.m.
A semi-truck driven by Terry Evearitt, 80, of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, struck Camarena first as they stood in the lane. A second vehicle, a 2025 Buick Enclave driven by Macey Rogers, 25, of Muscatine, also hit Camarena in the same crash. Camarena was pronounced dead and transferred to the University of Iowa Health Care by the Johnson County Medical Examiner.
No further details about the wreck were available at the time of this report. The accident remains under investigation. Our deepest condolences go out to Yanelli Camarena’s family and all those who knew them.
Why Is Standing in a Highway Lane So Dangerous, Even Briefly?
A person standing in an active interstate travel lane faces an extreme and immediate risk, regardless of the reason they are there. At highway speeds, a semi-truck or passenger vehicle may have only a second or two of warning before reaching someone on foot in the roadway: far less time than is needed to brake to a stop from 65 or 70 miles per hour. Even a driver who reacts instantly upon seeing a person in the lane may be unable to stop or steer clear in time.
The risk compounds significantly at night, when a person standing in a dark lane may not be visible until a vehicle’s headlights illuminate them at close range. Interstate highways are not designed for foot traffic, and drivers are not expecting to encounter a person standing in a travel lane. That element of surprise further reduces the effective reaction time available, particularly for large commercial vehicles that require far longer stopping distances than passenger cars.
When one person is struck by multiple vehicles in the same crash, it reflects how quickly and unpredictably these situations unfold on high-speed roadways. A vehicle that strikes someone in a lane may create a secondary hazard for drivers in adjacent lanes who have no time to react to what has just occurred ahead of them. The combination of speed, darkness, and the unexpected presence of a person on a high-speed road makes these crashes among the most difficult to survive.
