Teen suspected of DUI after crash shuts down Iowa Street in Lawrence

A suspected DUI crash by a 17-year-old girl shut down Iowa Street in Lawrence for about an hour Monday night, blocking one of the city’s main north-south corridors near the Irving Hill Road bridge.

Lawrence police said the teen was speeding northbound around 10 p.m. on June 1 when her car struck the guardrail on the east side of Iowa Street, crossed all lanes of traffic and came to rest against the west-side guardrail under the bridge. Police said no other vehicles were involved.

When officers reached the scene, the girl was walking around, but she had a significant cut on her forehead. She was taken to the hospital for treatment and later to juvenile detention, where she was held on suspicion of driving under the influence.

Because the driver was 17, the case is expected to move through the juvenile system rather than adult court. Even so, the crash carried immediate consequences beyond the driver herself: Iowa Street is one of Lawrence’s busiest commuter routes, and a full closure in that stretch can quickly force drivers onto other roads, slow traffic near the bridge and put emergency crews working in the roadway at greater risk.

The wreck also fit a pattern that local law enforcement and commuters know well, in which a late-night impaired-driving suspect can turn a single crash into a broader public-safety problem. On a corridor as heavily used as Iowa Street, even one vehicle leaving the roadway can shut down traffic, delay travel across central Lawrence and tie up officers and rescue crews until the scene is cleared.