3 Twin Cities men died after eastern Iowa crash; the driver had been shot

The Twin Cities driver of a car that slammed head-on into a truck in October in eastern Iowa had been shot before the deadly collision, according to the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation. The driver and two passengers were pronounced dead at the scene.

The announcement came Wednesday as authorities identified the people killed in the resulting crash.

The deceased driver was identified as Tijuan Devell White, 50, of Robbinsdale, according to the Iowa State Patrol. The investigation determined White suffered a gunshot wound prior to colliding with the truck.

No evidence was located that indicated the gunshot came from outside White’s vehicle. Due to extensive fire damage to White’s vehicle, the precise cause of death remains undetermined, according to the DCI.

It wasn’t clear if a firearm had been found in the vehicle.

The front seat passenger was identified as Tyrese Devell Johnson, 21, of Minneapolis; and the rear passenger was identified as Augustine T. Monboe, 38, of Robbinsdale.

The crash happened around 3:30 a.m. Oct. 13 near mile marker 287 on U.S. 20 when White’s Chevrolet Impala was traveling east in the westbound lanes and struck a westbound Freightliner straight truck head-on.

Both vehicles caught fire, and the occupants of the Chevrolet were pronounced dead at the scene. The truck driver, Ricky Charles Bergfeld, 62, of Peosta, suffered minor injuries.

Court records show White had passed through the Mason City area hours before the crash.

Troopers with the Iowa State Patrol stopped his Impala in the eastbound lane of U.S. 18 at 12:04 a.m., and he was cited for driving without a license and going 102 mph in a 65 mph zone.

The incident remains under investigation by the Iowa Department of Public Safety’s Division of Criminal Investigation, the Iowa State Patrol, the Delaware County Sheriff’s Office and the Iowa Office of the State Medical Examiner.