Mark Rader, 42, of Manson, was taken to UnityPoint Health — Trinity Regional Medical Center where he died Wednesday evening, according to Trooper Paul Gardner of the Iowa State Patrol.

Rader was the driver of a Ford Expedition, according to Gardner. Rod Strait, of Fort Dodge, who was driving a Kenworth semitrailer, was uninjured, he said.

The crash happened at about 12:30 p.m. on Iowa Highway 7 just east of Kelly Drive.

Gardner said Rader was traveling east when the Ford Expedition went out of control, crossed the center of the highway and hit the westbound truck head-on

- Messenger photo by Bill Shea
- Messenger photo by Bill Shea Firefighters, paramedics and sheriff's deputies work to remove a person from the wreckage of a sport utility vehicle Wednesday afternoon after it collided with a semitrailer truck on Iowa Highway 7 near Kelly Drive.

The SUV ended up in the ditch on the south side of the highway. The impact appeared to shatter the vehicle, tearing at least one wheel off and ripping the engine completely out of it. The engine landed on the ground several feet from the vehicle.

The truck and the grain trailer it was pulling went into the ditch on the north side of the highway. The truck had front-end damage and some grain appeared to have spilled out of the bottom of the trailer.

Rescuers freed Rader from the remains of his vehicle and transported him to the hospital.

Gardner said the freezing rain that was falling at the time appears to have been a factor in the crash.

The crash had a significant impact on travel on Iowa Highway 7. Traffic was initially stopped on the highway between Fort Dodge and Barnum while rescuers worked. Fort Dodge police blocked the route at its intersection with U.S. Highway 169. After Rader was taken to the hospital, one lane was opened and traffic alternated between eastbound and westbound vehicles. Traffic on the highway was shut down again later in the afternoon when the wrecked vehicles were removed.

- Messenger photo by Bill Shea
- Messenger photo by Bill Shea The front end of this Kenworth semitrailer show serious damage after it collided with a sport utility vehicle on Iowa Highway 7 near Kelly Drive Wednesday afternoon.

The Barnum and Fort Dodge fire departments, Webster County sheriff’s deputies, the Iowa State Patrol and the Iowa Department of Transportation Motor Vehicle Enforcement responded to the scene.

- Messenger photo by Bill Shea
- Messenger photo by Bill Shea This engine was thrown from a sport utility vehicle Wednesday afternoon during a violent collision with a semitrailer on Iowa Highway 7 near Kelly Drive.