Three-vehicle accident on Montgomery Street causes $14,000 in damages

A Decorah police officer witnessed a traffic accident as it happened on Monday afternoon on Montgomery Street. 

Officer Scott Jennings had stopped a vehicle on a side street.  At the same time, an SUV driven by 48-year-old Mark Lane of Decorah slowed down on Montgomery Street because of traffic.  38-year-old Timothy Herzman of Monona tried to slow down, but hit the rear driver's side of Lane's SUV, pushing it into a vehicle driven by Leonard Soukup.

Soukup's vehicle wasn't damaged, but Herzman's truck suffered $8,000 in damages, while Lane's SUV suffered $6,000 in damages.  Herzman was listed on the police report as being at fault for following too closely, but was not ticketed because the officer felt the nearby squad car could have reasonably caused a distraction.