STORM LAKE, IA (Northwestiowanow) — A Worthington, Minnesota man has been sentenced to 10 years in prison following a wrong-way crash last year that killed a Nemaha woman.
Twenty-nine-year-old Jorge Ardany Ortega-Ortega, formerly of Cherokee, was sentenced Tuesday, May 5, in Buena Vista County District Court after a jury previously found him guilty of homicide by vehicle – reckless driving, a Class C felony.
The conviction stems from a March 19, 2025 incident during a blizzard that brought near-whiteout conditions to northern Buena Vista County.
Investigators say Ortega-Ortega was driving westbound on Iowa Highway 3 in a Honda Civic around 6:25 a.m. when he activated his turn signal, crossed into the eastbound lane, and continued driving in the wrong lane for approximately one mile.
Court testimony and dash-camera footage showed Ortega-Ortega passing a no-passing sign, drifting across both the center line and fog line, and remaining in oncoming traffic near the intersection of Highway 3 and County Road M-27, where he collided head-on with a vehicle driven by 65-year-old Rose Bumsted of Nemaha.
Bumsted was taken to Buena Vista Regional Medical Center, where she later died from her injuries. Ortega-Ortega was hospitalized in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
In addition to the felony conviction, Ortega-Ortega was cited for driving on the wrong side of a two-way highway, a traffic violation connected to the underlying criminal case.
Ortega-Ortega initially pleaded not guilty and waived his right to a speedy trial. Following a three-day jury trial in Storm Lake, he was found guilty earlier this year.
He was sentenced to the maximum 10-year prison term allowed under Iowa law and denied probation.
In addition to prison time, Ortega-Ortega was ordered to pay $168,676.50 in fines, restitution, and fees.
