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Eastern Iowa trooper dies in La Crosse after fatal crash

Published

2 years ago

October 21, 2021

An Iowa state trooper has died at a La Crosse hospital, nearly a week after being hurt in a crash while driving to help another police agency.

Trooper Ted Benda from the Decorah area was hurt Oct. 14 in an accident north of Postville, Iowa, and was airlifted to Gundersen Health System in La Crosse, where he died Wednesday.

Benda was on his way to assist Clayton County officers with a wanted suspect, when his car went into a ditch.

The 37-year-old Benda joined the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation in 2005, working with a bureau in Marquette. He joined the Iowa State Patrol five years ago and was stationed in Oelwein.

Benda is survived by his wife Holly and their four children. He was a graduate of Waukon High School.

Brad Williams

A native of Prairie du Chien, Brad graduated from UW - La Crosse and has worked in radio news for more than 30 years, mostly in the La Crosse area. He regularly covers local courts and city and county government. Brad produces the features "Yesterday in La Crosse" and "What's Buried on Brad's Desk." He also writes the website "Triviazoids," which finds odd connections between events that happen on a certain date, and he writes and performs with the local comedy group Heart of La Crosse. Brad been featured on several national TV programs because of his memory skills.