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Matthew Earl Cox

Age : 38

Gender : Male

Race : Unknown

Date : 03/03/2021

Location : 77th Street Drive near 14th Avenue Drive

City : Belle Plaine

County : Benton

State : Iowa

Agency : Linn County Sheriff's Office

Officer(s) :Not Disclosed

Cause of Death : Vehicle

Event : Driver killed in police chase crash

OPEN RECORDS SUMMARY :

REASON FOR CHASE: A Linn County Sheriff's Office deputy observed a silver Dodge Grand Caravan without license plates that appeared to be prowling a residential area in Atkins. After the driver ran a stop sign, the deputy attempted a traffic stop. Matthew Earl Cox continued away from the attempted stop and the deputy pursued.
NARRATIVE:
On 03/03/2021, 38-year-old Matthew Earl Cox of Cedar Rapids was killed when the Dodge Grand Caravan he was driving crashed during a Linn County Sheriff's Office pursuit in Benton County, Iowa.

At approximately 3:49 a.m., a Linn County Sheriff's Office deputy observed a silver Dodge Grand Caravan without license plates in a residential area of Atkins. The Sheriff's Office reported that the vehicle appeared to be prowling the neighborhood. After the driver ran a stop sign, the deputy attempted to stop the vehicle. Cox continued away and a pursuit began.

The pursuit traveled south from Atkins and then west on U.S. Highway 30. Cox continued south on Highway 21 into Belle Plaine and then east onto 77th Street Drive. The Sheriff's Office reported that speeds during the pursuit reached approximately 115 mph.

At approximately 4:09 a.m., after about 20 minutes of pursuit, Cox drove off 77th Street Drive near 14th Avenue Drive east of Belle Plaine and struck a culvert. Cox was ejected from the minivan and died at the scene.

A passenger, 33-year-old Mary Jeanette Ridenour of Cedar Rapids, was trapped inside the crashed minivan. Emergency personnel extricated her, and she was airlifted to University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics in Iowa City with serious injuries that were not believed to be life-threatening.

The Iowa State Patrol investigated the fatal collision. The 03/03/2021 Benton County fatality documented by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's Fatality Analysis Reporting System corresponds with the independently documented pursuit crash that killed Matthew Earl Cox.

SOURCE LINKS :

https://www.kcrg.com/2021/03/04/officials-identify-man-who-died-in-crash-following-high-speed-chase-in-benton-county/
https://www.thegazette.com/crime-courts/man-killed-during-pursuit-with-linn-deputies-when-ejected-from-minivan-in-benton-county/
https://www.thegazette.com/crime-courts/cedar-rapids-man-died-in-crash-following-high-speed-pursuit-in-benton-county/
https://www.ketv.com/article/iowa-sheriff-ids-driver-killed-in-crash-during-police-chase/35730452