DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – Neighbors and police were stunned early Friday morning by a crash just outside the State Fairgrounds. KCCI-TV reports a man was traveling east on Dean Avenue, which is closed due to construction. They say he hit the bucket of an excavator, slicing his car in half. The man was injured but police say he’s expected to survive.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – A judge has dismissed a defamation lawsuit against authorities who unsuccessfully sought to convict an Jasper County woman in the 1983 deaths of her estranged husband and his girlfriend. Authorities charged Theresa Supino in 2014 in the deaths of the two, who were found bludgeoned inside a trailer at a horse ranch. Supino was acquitted at a 2015 trial. Afterward, she filed suit against authorities saying she was defamed by statements implying she was guilty even after the acquittal. The judge disagreed.

CEDAR RAPIDS, IA (IRN) – A Marion man is facing charges after he left his crying baby in a wrecked van in a Taco Bell parking lot Wednesday. KGAN-TV reports 24-year-old Trevor Brickson pulled into the lot, parked the van and – after hanging around the restaurant for about 20 minutes, took off. 15 minutes later, employees checked the van and found Brickson’s one-year-old son crying inside. Employees pried open the window to get the baby out of the van.

BURLINGTON, IA (IRN) – The Burlington Police Department is warning merchants of counterfeit $100 bills being used at local businesses. WQAD-TV reports all of the bills have the same serial number.

DES MOINES, IA (IRN) – A chase by the Iowa State Patrol ended Wednesday with an excuse from the driver troopers have never heard before. KCCI-TV reports it happened on I-80 in Des Moines. A trooper attempted to pull the driver of a sedan over on a traffic violation. The driver refused to pull over, and the chase was on. A trooper used a PIT maneuver on the sedan, and the driver was apprehended peacefully. The driver told troopers he wanted to be chased because, “it was on his bucket list.”