Adams County Sheriff Gregg Magee said the accidents, which claimed the lives of four people, do not represent any kind of pattern. Fred Zwonechek, state Department of Motor Vehicles director of highway safety, said there rarely are correlations among accidents in different areas at different times. A Doniphan man and Glenvil man, ages 19 and 20, died April 5 when a train struck their vehicle at a crossing east of Hastings and north of the highway.
Accidents do, however, tend to increase in the spring time.
Nicer weather tends to encourage more driving. With more people out driving, he said, the chances of accidents increase. Seat belts may have prevented tragedy, officials said. Seat belts were not worn by the Superior man or the Hastings girl. Officials don't know if the two area men were wearing them.