UPDATE: IOWA STATE PATROL ANNOUNCES TROOPER TED BENDA'S PASSING

UPDATE: IOWA STATE PATROL ANNOUNCES TROOPER TED BENDA'S PASSING
The men and women of the Iowa State Patrol and Department of Public Safety are heartbroken to announce the loss of one of our own, Trooper Ted Benda ISP #313. Trooper Benda was involved in a single-vehicle crash on Thursday, October 14th while in route to assist the Clayton County Sheriff's Office with a wanted suspect. He succumbed to his injuries today, October 20, 2021.
Trooper Benda joined the DCI in 2005, assigned to the Special Enforcement Operations Bureau in Marquette. He transferred to the State Patrol in 2016, assigned to District 8 in Mason City and most recently working out of the District 10 office in Oelwein. He is not only a valuable part of the Department of Public Safety, but he was more importantly a loving husband, father, son, and brother. Trooper Benda leaves behind his wife, Holly, and their four young children along with many family, friends, and colleagues.
Please keep the Benda family in your thoughts and prayers as they face this unimaginable loss. Rest in Peace, Trooper Benda...we have your 6 from here.

INITIAL ANNOUNCEMENT:
An Iowa State Patrol Trooper and Waukon native remains listed in critical condition following a single-vehicle accident Thursday evening, October 14 in Allamakee County. An initial release from the Iowa State Patrol says Trooper Ted Benda was assisting the Clayton County Sheriff’s Office with a call for service around 11:30 p.m. that Thursday evening when the accident occurred.
While responding to that call, Trooper Benda was involved in a single-vehicle crash while traveling on Highway 51, approximately six miles north of Postville, with his vehicle leaving the roadway and ending up in the ditch for reasons yet to be officially determined, authorities say. According to the release, Trooper Benda was airlifted to Gundersen Lutheran Hospital in La Crosse, WI where he remained listed in critical condition as of press time for this edition of The Standard Tuesday morning, October 19.
The Public Information Office with the Iowa State Patrol says the accident remains under investigation by the department’s Technical Collision Investigation Unit and the Iowa State Patrol will provide additional updates as they become available. That office further shared that such investigations could take several weeks or up to several months to complete, depending upon the type and amount of information involved in the investigation.
Benda is a 2002 graduate of Waukon High School and has been a State Trooper since 2016 after having joined the Iowa Department of Public Safety in 2005. Benda and his wife, the former Holly Callahan of Lansing, and their daughters most recently returned to northeast Iowa after he transfered from the Iowa State Patrol’s District 8 headquartered in Mason City to District 10, which is headquartered out of Oelwein and covers the seven most northeastern counties in Iowa.
Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds released a statement in response to the accident, “Kevin and I extend our heartfelt thoughts and prayers to Iowa State Patrol Trooper Ted Benda, as well as his family, friends and law enforcement partners. I pray for the dedicated medical team providing him care and treatment for the critical injuries he sustained in a crash while responding to a call and pray for a full recovery. This unfortunate incident reminds us all of the dedication and sacrifice our law enforcement officers make to keep us safe.”