Whittemore man's last act may have saved others

The driver of a semi transporting fuel may have spared others from harm by pulling his rig off well-traveled U.S. Highway 18 near Spencer during a medical emergency.

Dana Aaron Lee, of Whittemore, was pronounced dead upon arrival at Spencer Hospital. His truck was found, with the motor running, in a ditch less than three miles east of the city at about 3:35 a.m. Saturday. Traffic investigators ruled out a crash impact as the cause of Lee's death.

An autopsy is planned to determine what happened medically to the 42-year-old, who was transporting the fuel for agricultural service provider MaxYield Cooperative.

"Obviously he knew something was going on because he did get it off the road and out of gear," Clay County Sheriff Randy Krukow said.

The Clay County Sheriff's Office was assisted by the Dickens and Spencer Fire Department as well as the Spencer Hospital Ambulance. The agencies were also assisted by several bystanders at the scene.

The Lentz Funeral Home of Algona is handling arrangements for Mr. Lee. Visitation continues until noon Tuesday (Sept. 29) at Trinity Lutheran Church in Algona. A 1 p.m. funeral is planned at the church with Rev. Jon Dunbar officiating.

Burial will be in Riverview Cemetery in Algona.

He is survived by his wife of 18 years, Deborah; a stepdaughter, Amanda Sidles of Whittemore; two sons, Brandon and Jordan Lee of Whittemore; his parents, Don and Kay Lee of Whittemore; a brother, Larry Westberg and his wife Lisa of Algona; two sisters, Tracy Pettit of Emmetsburg and Deb Lamprecht of Des Moines; mother and father-in-law, Ron and Diane Sidles of Emmetsburg; a sister-in-law, Amy Gilderhus of Spencer; and two brothers-in-law, Casey Sidles of Denver and Daniel Sidles of Arizona.

He was preceded in death by a niece, Kari Westberg.