Bernardo Jimenez Benavidez, Issa Juma Abdalla Death – Snow and ice that fell over the weekend led to dozens of crashes in Nebraska, including two that proved fatal. The Nebraska State Patrol said in a news release that 19-year-old Bernardo Jimenez Benavidez of York and 49-year-old Issa Juma Abdalla of Lexington were killed in separate crashes on Interstate 80 this weekend.
Troopers were dispatched at about 11:50 p.m. Saturday to a single-vehicle crash at mile marker 189 near Maxwell. When they arrived, they found a Toyota pickup resting on its side in the westbound lanes with bystanders providing aid to an unresponsive Benavidez, who had been ejected from the vehicle.
A trooper used an automated external defibrillator to try to revive Benavidez, and he was transported to Great Plains Health in North Platte, where he was pronounced dead. Three other occupants in the truck were transported to the hospital with what are believed to be non-life-threatening injuries, the patrol said in the news release.
The crash remains under investigation, but a preliminary investigation shows that the eastbound pickup lost control during winter driving conditions, rolled, and came to rest in the westbound lanes, the patrol said. About 12:30 a.m. Sunday, troopers were dispatched to a vehicle fire at mile marker 277 near Kearney.
Upon arrival, troopers and Buffalo County deputies located a two-vehicle crash, with one vehicle fully engulfed. Preliminary investigation shows that a Ford F-150 was westbound on I-80 when it lost control in winter driving conditions, crossed the median and struck an eastbound semi. The F-150 then caught fire.
Abdalla, the driver of the F-150, was pronounced dead at the scene. The semi driver was not injured. The crash remains under investigation. The patrol said in the news release that it responded to nearly 40 crashes, performed around 50 motorist assists and helped local law enforcement agencies with 27 additional incidents from Saturday to Sunday morning.
According to the National Weather Service, anywhere from 1-5 inches of snow fell over a large swath of central and western Nebraska from Saturday to Sunday.