Pleasant Hill man identified as victim of deadly Highway 65 crash

PLEASANT HILL, Iowa — Police say a Pleasant Hill man died in a multiple-vehicle crash that shut down Highway 65 Thursday afternoon.

The Pleasant Hill Police Department said Leonard Ochylski, 75, died as a result of the crash. Emergency crews were called to the area near the 79 mile marker of Highway 65 around 12:40 p.m. on a crash involving multiple vehicles.

Police said a preliminary investigation showed a northbound vehicle that was trying to merge into another lane hit another vehicle, which caused both to travel into the median and then into oncoming traffic in the southbound lanes, where they both collided with two more vehicles.

Two people were extricated from their vehicles. Four people, in total, were transported to the hospital for treatment. Ochylski was transported by air ambulance but later died from his injuries.

Police said the other three injured in the crash were treated and released from the hospital.

The technical investigation into the accident continues.

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