Richland High outstanding graduate dies after bicycle accident

An outstanding Richland High School graduate who made news when she failed to be named valedictorian in 2010 was killed Sunday in a bicycle accident in Iowa.

Ellen Bengtson, 28, was hit by a pickup whose driver failed to see her bike Sunday evening in Charles City, according to the Iowa State Patrol.

The daughter of Peter and JoAnn Bengtson of Richland, she was working as an environmental engineer in Charles City after earning her bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from Yale University and her master’s degree in chemical engineering from Columbia University in New York, according to the Charles City Press.

Ten years ago, Ellen Bengtson’s teachers in Richland lobbied the school board to find a better system to pick the top scholar, after she was named salutatorian rather than valedictorian in 2010.

“In 30 years of teaching this girl was the smartest I’ve ever had,” Sandra Stroup, her advance placement English teacher, said at the time.

Rich McDonald, a Richland teacher who had Bengtson for Mock Trial, said in 2010 that Bengtson was one of the top students he’d had in 35 years of teaching.

“She’s such a read person,” he said. “She devours novels and books.”

McDonald said Bengtson also helped other students, and helped them accomplish things at a higher standard than they may have thought possible.

Bengtson had taken an online multivariable calculus course through Stanford University as a high school student and her B caused her to be named salutatorian rather than valedictorian.

She had already been accepted to Yale. There she would play in the Yale Symphony Orchestra and she played bass in the Charles City Community Chamber Orchestra.

A Ride of Silence to draw attention to bicycle safety was held Aug. 4 in her memory. A memorial service is planned Saturday in Charles City, according to the Charles City Press.

The cause of the crash remains under investigation.