Judge Changes Course, Sentences North Iowa 19-Year-Old to Probation Not Prison

A North Iowa woman, sentenced this summer to five years in prison for striking and killing a bicyclist with her car two years ago, is being released after a judge overturned his original decision for a prison sentence.

19-year-old Jade Quam of Mason City was charged after she ran into 42-year-old Jennifer Buls-Vrba of Mason City, in the 1500 block of Plymouth Road in Mason City in July 2024. Buls-Vrba was later pronounced dead at MercyOne North Iowa Medical Center in Mason City.

Quam, who was 17 at the time, was initially charged in juvenile court, but the case was waived to district court in April 2025. She was accused of using a handheld electronic communication device when the accident occurred and was charged with vehicular homicide by reckless driving, a Class C felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison.

In May, as part of a plea agreement, she pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter, a Class D felony. In June, District Judge Blake Norman sentenced Quam to five years in prison.

However, Quam’s attorney immediately filed to reconsider the sentence, arguing, pursuant to a plea agreement, the state, as well as a pre-sentence  investigation report, recommended a suspended sentence of five years with probation, and the agreement permitted Quam to request a deferred judgment at the time of the sentencing. 

After a hearing held last Friday (Sept. 18) in Cerro Gordo County District Court, Judge Norman agreed Quam was a very low risk, based on a progress report from the Department of Corrections. Thus, her sentence was reconsidered and he ordered Quam’s sentence be changed to a suspended sentence, with all fines and surcharges remaining imposed. 

Quam has now been placed on three to five years probation and is still required to complete her previously ordered community service.