Johnathan Scales Was Traveling Behind a Kenworth Truck Before the Highway 175 Collision

 A Tuesday afternoon ride along an Iowa highway ended in tragedy when a motorcycle collided with a semitrailer west of Odebolt, claiming the life of a 22-year-old man from Ida Grove. The crash happened in daylight, on a stretch of road where the vehicles were traveling in the same direction.

Authorities identified the motorcyclist as Johnathan Alexander Scales, 22. The Iowa State Patrol said the collision occurred at approximately 1:11 p.m. on November 10, 2026, near the intersection of Iowa Highway 175 and Cory Avenue in Sac County. The location is about 2.5 miles west of Odebolt. Scales was riding a 2026 Kawasaki motorcycle eastbound on Highway 175, according to the patrol’s preliminary account. The intersection lies in a rural part of the county, west of Odebolt. The patrol’s release identified the vehicles, their direction of travel, the planned turn, and the point of impact. It did not say whether the investigation had been completed or whether additional findings would be released later when available.

Ahead of him was a 1999 Kenworth tractor-trailer traveling eastbound as well. The semitrailer was driven by Darel Lee Godbersen, 71, of Odebolt. Investigators said Godbersen began preparing to turn left onto Cory Avenue. As the truck was preparing for that turn, Scales’s motorcycle struck the rear of the semitrailer. The patrol’s account describes the sequence of events but does not provide further detail about the vehicles’ speeds, visibility, or the distance between them before impact.

The force of the collision left Scales with fatal injuries. He was pronounced dead at the scene, authorities said. Godbersen was not injured. The available information does not indicate that anyone else in the crash suffered injuries, and no additional occupants were identified in the initial report. The death turned an ordinary afternoon trip into a fatal incident on a rural stretch of roadway, leaving Scales’s family and community to confront the sudden loss of a young man.

After the crash, Scales’s body was transported by Farber & Otteman Funeral Home to the Iowa Office of the State Medical Examiner. The report did not state whether an autopsy would be performed or whether additional examination results were expected. The Iowa State Patrol is the agency that provided the preliminary account of the collision. No further findings about the cause of the crash were included in the information released.

Several local agencies and responders assisted at the scene. The Sac County Sheriff’s Office, Odebolt Fire Department, and Precision Towing joined the Iowa State Patrol in the response. Their work followed the collision near Highway 175 and Cory Avenue, where the damaged motorcycle and semitrailer had to be addressed before the roadway could return to normal use. The report did not specify how long the response lasted or whether traffic was diverted.

The initial account leaves some questions unanswered. Authorities have not publicly detailed whether investigators are examining additional factors beyond the reported left-turn maneuver and rear impact. The information provided also does not describe road or weather conditions, any mechanical issues, or whether witnesses were interviewed. Godbersen’s lack of injury was noted, but the report did not announce any citation, charge, or allegation of wrongdoing against him. The patrol’s description should therefore be understood as a preliminary account rather than a complete explanation of every circumstance.

At 22, Johnathan Alexander Scales had many years ahead of him. His death is a painful loss for those who knew him in Ida Grove and beyond. As the investigation documents the events of that afternoon, family and friends are left to remember a young life cut short on an Iowa highway.