Driver in fatal van crash fined, suspended

Published 10:32 am Sunday, February 24, 2013

NORTHWOOD — The driver in a fatal crash last July that killed two young girls near Hanlontown, Iowa, has been fined for traffic violations tied to the crash.

Her driving privileges have also been suspended for 180 days.

Worth County District Court Judge Douglas Krull on Feb. 14 ordered Nicole Streets, 23, pay $100 for failing to obey a stop sign and yield the right of way, plus an additional penalty of $1,000 because the violation caused a death, according to online court records.

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For not having a valid driver’s license, Streets was fined $200. She must also pay an additional $575 in court surcharges and costs for the violations, which she pleaded guilty to in January.

Streets was a naturalist intern for the Worth County Conservation Department and at the time of the crash was taking six young girls on a canoe outing on Clear Lake.

The crash — on July 10 — resulted in the deaths of Cassidy Stehn, 9, of Northwood, and Hana Riedinger, 12, of Kensett.

According to reports, Streets was driving southbound on Worth County Road S28 when she reportedly ran a stop sign at the intersection of Iowa Highway 9, and the van was struck broadside by a semi coming eastbound on Highway 9.

Four other girls were injured, along with Streets and the semi driver, Steven Brodersen of Manly, Iowa.

The girls were all students of Northwood-Kensett Elementary School.