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Benjamin Todd Wilber

Age : 30

Gender : Male

Race : White

Date : 08/30/2022

Location : hite Pole Road at Juniper Avenue, approximately two miles west of Casey

City : Guthrie County

County : Guthrie

State : Iowa

Agency : Adair County Sheriff’s Office; Guthrie County Sheriff’s Office; Iowa State Patrol

Officer(s) :Todd Thorn; initiating Adair County deputy Not Disclosed

Cause of Death : Vehicle

Event : Driver (motorcyclist) killed by police chase crash

OPEN RECORDS SUMMARY :

On 08/30/2022, 30-year-old Benjamin Todd Wilber was killed when his motorcycle collided with a Guthrie County Sheriff’s Office pickup positioned at an intersection to assist an Adair County deputy who was pursuing him. The pursuit began after what initially was a welfare check on Wilber, who had stopped his motorcycle on an Interstate 80 overpass and appeared to the deputy to be slumped over.
Shortly after midnight, an Adair County sheriff’s deputy was patrolling near Adair-Madison Avenue and the Interstate 80 interchange at mile marker 97 when the deputy saw a motorcycle parked on the shoulder of the overpass. Wilber was sitting on the motorcycle and appeared slumped over, prompting the deputy to stop to check on him.
Wilber told the deputy he was cold and had stopped to rest or warm up. There was no confrontation during the welfare check. The deputy returned to the patrol vehicle and ran the license plate displayed on the motorcycle. The check indicated that the 2013 Harley-Davidson had been reported stolen in St. Cloud, Minnesota.
By the time the deputy received that information, Wilber had returned to Interstate 80 and was traveling west. The deputy caught up and attempted a traffic stop using emergency lights and siren. Wilber continued driving west and exited Interstate 80 at Adair.
Police continued pursuing Wilber north from Adair into Guthrie County. Wilber subsequently traveled east toward Casey on White Pole Road. The publicly available reporting does not provide the pursuit's maximum speed, total duration, exact distance, or whether a supervisor evaluated whether it should continue.
Guthrie County Sheriff’s Deputy Todd Thorn was called to assist with the pursuit. Thorn positioned his department-issued 2021 Chevrolet Silverado at the intersection of White Pole Road and Juniper Avenue. According to the Iowa State Patrol crash account, Thorn's pickup was stopped on Juniper Avenue on the south side of the intersection and facing north.
At approximately 12:32 a.m., Wilber approached the intersection traveling east on White Pole Road. His motorcycle veered south and struck the rear driver's side of Thorn's sheriff's vehicle.
The collision threw Wilber from the motorcycle. He landed in the southeast ditch and died from his injuries. Thorn was not physically injured.
The Iowa State Patrol investigated the fatal collision. Its initial findings identified Wilber, documented the positioning of Thorn's sheriff's vehicle and established that the motorcycle physically struck the police vehicle while an Adair County deputy was pursuing Wilber.
Later information released by the Adair County Sheriff’s Office supplied important context missing from the first reports: police did not initially encounter Wilber because they were investigating a crime or conducting a traffic stop. The encounter began when a deputy stopped to check on a motorcyclist who appeared to be slumped over and potentially in need of assistance. The pursuit began only after the deputy subsequently checked the motorcycle's plate and received information that it had been reported stolen.
Wilber was from Mora, Minnesota. He was born 11/26/1991 and worked as a welder. His family described him as an avid fisherman and outdoorsman who enjoyed animals, gaming, bonfires and spending time with family and friends. He left behind his parents and two brothers.
Friends remembered Wilber for his humor and willingness to help people, describing him as someone who listened when others were struggling and tried to cheer them up. His family emphasized that his relationships with family and friends were central to his life.
No later civil lawsuit, settlement, disciplinary proceeding, publicly released pursuit-policy review or finding of wrongdoing by either sheriff's department was located in the subsequent public record. The available later reporting also does not identify the Adair County deputy who initiated and conducted the pursuit.
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OFFICER BACKGROUND:
Guthrie County Sheriff’s Deputy Todd Thorn, 52, was identified by the Iowa State Patrol as the deputy positioned at White Pole Road and Juniper Avenue to assist with the pursuit. Thorn was sitting in the department's 2021 Chevrolet Silverado when Wilber's motorcycle struck the rear driver's side of the police vehicle.
The Adair County deputy who initiated the attempted stop and pursued Wilber has not been publicly identified in the records located for this update.

SOURCE LINKS :

https://www.radioiowa.com/2022/08/30/motorcycle-driver-dies-in-guthrie-county-crash-trying-to-flee-deputies/
https://westerniowatoday.com/2022/08/30/minnesota-man-dies-in-a-motorcycle-pursuit-crash-in-guthrie-county/
https://westerniowatoday.com/2022/08/30/adair-county-sheriffs-office-releases-more-details-on-a-pursuit-that-ended-in-a-fatal-crash-in-guthrie-county/
https://www.startribune.com/motorcyclist-from-minnesota-dies-in-crash-while-fleeing-deputy-in-iowa/600202604/
https://www.1380kcim.com/2022/08/30/minnesota-man-killed-after-crashing-motorcycle-while-fleeing-from-police-tuesday-morning/
https://wjon.com/mora-man-killed-in-motorcycle-crash-during-police-chase-in-iowa/
https://beyondthedash.com/obituary/benjamin-wilber-1086166230/