KHAS Weather
Fiery crash on I-80 leaves one dead
A fatal car accident on I-80 between Giltner and Grand Island has left one dead and another in the hospital. The crash led to a fiery blaze.
It happened in Hamilton County around 8:40 am Thursday morning in the westbound lanes. News 5's Dara Newson was on the scene as crews arrived: It was a horrible scene. I arrived around 10:30am, at that time the blaze was out and completely under control. There were still signs of smoke as I drove in closer. Two vehicles were involved and the one was burned pretty badly. A pick-up truck sits scalded and the hard top and sides of this semi-trailer show signs of burns from an intense fire. According to the Nebraska State Patrol, the pickup headed eastbound on I-80, crossed the median and struck the semi head on. Both vehicles landed in the ditch and caught fire. The driver of the pick-up died at the scene and the semi driver was transported to Aurora Memorial Hospital. Giltner fire was paged to a motor vehicle accident approximately mile marker 319 upon arrival both vehicles were engulfed in flames Fire crews from Giltner, Aurora, and Hamilton County rescue worked the tragic accident for nearly two hours. Fire Chief Bradley Consbruck of Giltner says the fire was challenging. "The contents of the truck was smoldering so it just took enough of the hay loader to break it down and let us do our job putting the fire out," said Consbruck. The terrible accident also impacted the early morning traffic flow. Traffic headed westbound on I-80 was backed up for several hours fire crews did open up one of the lanes after they removed the semi-truck from the interstate and carefully remove the contents that were inside the truck "Cardboard - it works like hay bale fire. You have to break it apart and completely put it out. It's just tough stuff. It'll stay there and smolder if you don't work with it," said Consbruck. The cause of the accident is still unknown. The name of the pick-up driver will not be released pending notification of family members. The semi-driver 39 year old Joseph Donlan of Wildwood, GA was transported to Aurora Memorial Hospital with minor injuries. He has been treated and released. |
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