A two vehicle accident has claimed the lives of both drivers Wednesday near Webster City.

The crash occurred shortly after noon when a car entered the westbound lanes of U.S. Highway 20, traveling eastbound.

According to a press release from the Webster City Police Department, officers from that department and deputies from the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office were dispatched to the area in an attempt to intercept the wrong-way vehicle. Before emergency responders could arrive, the vehicle traveling the wrong direction collided head-on with a westbound vehicle.

The driver of one vehicle was transported to Van Diest Medical Center in Webster City for treatment of injuries sustained in the crash. Despite lifesaving efforts, the driver later died at the hospital as a result of those injuries. The driver of the second vehicle was pronounced deceased at the scene, the Police Department reported.

There were no passengers in either vehicle.

“This was only about one to half a mile from the exit for Webster City, exit 140,” said Hamilton County Sheriff Alex Pruismann. “Technically it was in the city limits of Webster City.”

Westbound U.S. Highway 20 was closed for several hours while emergency personnel responded. Traffic was diverted at exit 145, the Kamrar exit, for about three hours, said Pruismann.

Traffic was backed up several miles, and at one point, Pruismann said they were concerned it was getting backed up to Interstate 35. He said that U.S. Highway 20 is always a busy road, and with the holiday weekend coming, traffic seemed even heavier.

“Once we got the scene semi-safe, no one had to wait too long, and we still got the investigation done that we needed,” he said. “We didn’t want secondary crashes to happen.”

“I have to give a lot of credit to the first responders from the Webster City Police Department, the Webster City Fire Department and the nearby paramedics that were in traffic and the dispatchers who were fielding calls, not only for this accident but other incidents,” he said.

The Webster City Police Department was assisted by the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office, the Iowa State Patrol, the Webster City Fire Department, the Iowa Department of Transportation, the Hamilton County Medical Examiner’s Office, and Van Diest Medical Center

The identities of those involved are being withheld pending notification of next of kin.

The crash remains under investigation.