Charges Dropped Against Man Accused of Killing Two Ankeny Children

More than three years after the deaths of two Ankeny children, charges against the man accused of killing them have been dropped.

The Des Moines Register reports a Polk County authorities formally dropped vehicular homicide charges against Kevin Dalasta, who is accused of causing a 2010 car crash that injured an Ankeny mother Heather DeJoode and killed two of her children.

“Obviously, we’re extremely frustrated and disappointed," Troy DeJoode told the newspaper. “But there appears to be nothing we can do about it.”

Police say Dalasta, 48, was leaving a 10-hour shift at Tones Spices in Ankeny on May 6, 2010, when he drove through a stop sign at Southeast Tones Drive and Southeast Creekview Drive, according to the Register. Dalasta’s truck struck a van driven by Heather DeJoode, then 35.

The crash killed Carson DeJoode, 5, and Claire DeJoode, 5 months, while seriously injuring their mother. Chase DeJoode, then 3, suffered minor injuries to his ankle and neck, the paper said.

The court case against Dalasta has been delayed several times as he has undergone and recovered from a series of brain surgeries.

According to the Register, both the defense and the prosecution in the case were in agreement about the decision to drop charges:

Defense attorney Alfredo Parrish explained in court that multiple doctors and multiple evaluations over the past several years have all reached the same conclusion: Kevin Dalasta is not mentally competent to stand trial and likely never will be.

Prosecutor Steve Foritano raised no objection to the charges being dismissed, since the rules are spelled out fairly clearly in Iowa law: A criminal case must be dismissed if there’s no chance for Dalasta to ever understand or participate in the legal process arrayed against him.