A seizure may be the cause of an accident Tuesday morning when a man drove a truck into a house at the intersection of Johnson Street and Northwestern Avenue.

Ames Police arrived on the scene at 10:29 a.m. and found 48-year-old William Young, 1330 Northwestern Ave., had driven his white Chevrolet truck into the corner of a white, one-story house at 1205 Johnson St.

ISU Police Sgt. Rory Echer said Young has a history of seizures, and a seizure appeared to have caused the accident.

“He went into a blackout and ran into the house,” he said.

Officials at Mary Greeley Medical Center said Young was treated for minor injuries and released from the emergency room by 3 p.m. Tuesday. Young could not be reached for comment.

Echer said David and Carolyn Johnson, owners of the home, were not present when the incident occurred but had been contacted.

David Johnson said he first saw the damages upon returning home. “[The house is] kind of a mess and it upset me a little bit,” he said. “[The impact occurred] where my granddaughter’s toy box is at and all her toys were shot across the room.”

David Johnson said Young lives down the street from him.

“I’ve known him for years,” he said. “I think it’s about time to take his license away.”

Dave Stutz, executive officer for the Department of Transportation Office of Driver Services in the Motor Vehicle Division, said individuals with a history of seizures are not allowed to operate motor vehicles within six months of the episode.

“In Iowa administrative code, if a person has suffered a loss of consciousness of any kind, including an epileptic seizure, we would have to suspend their driving privileges until they are free of such episodes for a six-month period,” he said. “They would then need a doctor’s statement verifying that the condition is controlled.”

Stutz said seizures can occur as a result of head injuries, lesions of the brain or for no apparent reason. Repeated incidents could occur if a person is not consistent with taking medication, he said.

“A person may have a condition where perhaps we know about it and suspended their license and they went through a period of time and started to take prescribed anti-convulsant medication, but they have to take it regularly,” he said. “If they don’t they could have another episode.”

Stutz said the transportation department’s Motor Vehicle Division is responsible for investigating accidents involving physical conditions like seizures.

“[The officer on the scene will] file an investigating officer’s report about the crash and indicate in the report that the apparent cause or significant contributing factor was a seizure or a blackout,” he said.

“When we see that, we will then contact that person and will ask for a departmental re-examination.”

Stutz said the victim of the seizure is sent a medical report to be taken to their physician. The Motor Vehicle Division will issue the report and impose a six month license suspension period if the doctor indicates the event resulted from a loss of consciousness, he said.

“Six months seems to be a pretty valid period of time to judge the control,” he said.

David Johnson said he is waiting for a cost assessment of the damage.

“We were going to do a little remodeling on the outside of our house, but now it’s a must,” he said.