John Morrissey is a freelance writer in Des Moines.

Iowa State Trooper Ted Benda, who died of injuries suffered in a single-vehicle crash on October 14, had been driving a vehicle rated by a national standards organization as having poor-performing headlights.

The Iowa State Patrol reviews a variety of information about vehicles it purchases, spokesperson Sgt. Alex Dinkla told Bleeding Heartland. The department has received “no complaints” about vehicle headlights, he said. The Iowa State Patrol has not yet issued its final crash report; Dinkla suggested it may take weeks or months to complete.