Early Sunday morning accident claims life of young Dorchester man

Sunday, May 1 at approximately 2:13 a.m., the Allamakee County Sheriff’s Emergency Dispatch Center received a report of a one-vehicle accident near the intersection of State Highway 76 and Dorchester Drive just east of Dorchester.
Accident reports from both the Allamakee County Sheriff's Office and the Iowa State Patrol indicate that a vehicle driven by Benjamin Bednarski, age 20, of Waukon was traveling southbound on State Highway 76. The driver was unable to negotiate a curve in the roadway and the vehicle entered the ditch, drove off a culvert and rolled over, coming to rest upside down.
One of two passengers in the vehicle, William "Billy" Johns, age 20, of Dorchester, was fatally injured as a result of the accident. Johns was reported as wearing a seatbelt at the time of the crash.
A second passenger, Brent Ziegler, age 19, of Waukon, was transported to Veterans Memorial Hospital in Waukon for treatment of injuries and later transferred to Gundersen Lutheran Hospital in La Crosse, WI. Bednarski was transported to Gundersen Lutheran Hospital in La Crosse, WI for treatment of injuries. Conditions of both injured individuals has not been made available.
The accident remains under investigation by the Allamakee County Sheriff’s Office and Iowa State Patrol. Assisting at the scene of the accident was the Eitzen, MN Fire Department, Caledonia, MN Ambulance, Veterans Memorial Hospital Ambulance, Allamakee County Sheriff’s Office, Iowa State Patrol and the Houston County Sheriff’s Office of Minnesota.