Courtesy LCSO, and North Platte Post
NORTH PLATTE, Neb. (AP) – Authorities say two Coloradoans and a Nebraskan were fatally injured in a western Nebraska collision between a stolen pickup and a semi hauling a fuel tank.
The accident was reported around 7:30 p.m. Wednesday about three miles south of North Platte on U.S. Highway 83. The Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release Thursday the northbound pickup veered into oncoming traffic while trying to pass another vehicle, striking the big rig.
The pickup driver died at the scene. The Sheriff’s Office identified him as 28-year-old Shane O’Conner, of Westminster, Colorado. The pickup was reported stolen in Westminster. His passenger, 32-year-old Craig Vanmeter, of North Platte, was pronounced dead at a hospital.
The trucker also died at the scene. He was identified as 66-year-old Ralph Brandt, of Ovid, Colorado.