HERSHEY, Neb. (AP) - A winter storm that raked the state Friday snarled traffic for hundreds of drivers and caused at least one death on Interstate 80, the Nebraska State Patrol reported Saturday.
The patrol said that driver was killed around 11:30 a.m. Friday when the pickup he was driving eastbound near Hershey in western Nebraska spun out of control, crossed the I-80 median and slid into the path of a semitrailer. The crash killed the pickup driver, Michael Krough, 57, of Colorado Springs, Colorado. The semi driver was not hurt.
Friday’s weather - which saw several inches of snow followed by freezing rain and gusty winds - sent troopers to deal with more than 200 weather-related incidents across the state, the patrol said. Most of those calls were to assist stranded motorists, but 55 were crashes, the patrol said.
That included a double-trailer semi that overturned on I-80 near Kearney just after 10 a.m. Friday that closed the eastbound lanes for more than an hour. Neither occupant of the semi was injured.
The patrol warned Saturday that while snow and freezing rain had moved out of the state, bitterly cold temperatures over the coming days could keep roads icy in places through Tuesday.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.