KEARNEY, Neb. (KCAU) — The Nebraska State Patrol is currently investigating multiple fatal crashes in the state after winter weather hit the region this past weekend.
A release from NSP said that there were over 100 incidents between Saturday and Sunday, multiple of which were fatal.
NSP was dispatched to the first fatal crash at around 11:50 p.m. on Saturday. When they arrived at the scene, they found a single vehicle that had crashed on Interstate 80 near Maxwell.
One person had been ejected from the vehicle, the release said. Multiple bystanders helped law enforcement at the scene.
The person, identified as Bernardo Benavidez, 19, of York, was a passenger in the pickup, which is believed to have crashed after the driver allegedly lost control of the vehicle. Benavidez was taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead.
The three other occupants of the truck were taken to the hospital with believed non-life-threatening injuries.
About 40 minutes after that call, another call came in about a vehicle that had caught on fire on I-80 near Kearney.
When officials arrived, they found a two-vehicle where one vehicle was fully engulfed in flames. Their initial investigation showed that a Ford F-150 had been heading west on I-80 when it lost control due to the winter weather, crossed the median, and hit a semi that was heading east. The release said that this is when the Ford caught on fire.
The driver was identified as Issa Abdalla, 49, Lexington, and was pronounced dead at the scene by officials. The semi-driver was uninjured.
Both crashes are still under investigation. There were other deadly crashes, but these two were the only ones the NSP investigated.