CEDAR BLUFFS, Neb. (AP) — A man has died in a single-vehicle crash in eastern Nebraska.
The Saunders County Sheriff’s Office says the crash happened Friday evening at the intersection of two county roads near Cedar Bluffs.
Investigators say a large pickup driven by a 56-year-old man failed to stop at the intersection stop sign, left the roadway and ended up in a ditch. The driver was pronounced dead at the scene.
Authorities have not yet released the driver’s name.
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — An Omaha man who spent less than three years in prison for participating in the gang-rape of teenager in 2000 now faces life in prison for sexually assaulting two young girls within months of leaving prison in 2004.
Kelvin Smith was found guilty this week of 11 counts, including first-degree sexual assault of a child and third-degree sexual assault of a child.
Prosecutors say the girls were 9 and 10 when Smith began abusing them in 2004.
He faces up to life in prison, plus 280 years when he’s sentenced on Aug. 11.
Prosecutors say in 2000, Smith was among several men who dragged a 19-year-old woman into an abandoned house in north Omaha and took turns raping her.
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Topeka police are looking for someone in a silver Dodge Magnum station wagon who fatally shot a man in front of a local residence after an apparent confrontation.
The Topeka Capital-Journal reports the victim, who hasn’t been named, was pronounced dead at 3:40 p.m. Friday after being shot multiple times an hour earlier.
Witnesses told police a man driving a station wagon with tinted windows stopped in front of a home and began talking with a person in the front yard. The man then fired several shots at the victim and drove away.
A witness heard between eight and 10 shots fired in a rapid manner.
It’s the third homicide in Topeka in the past 19 days after going the first six months of the year without any.
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Those attending the first games at the College World Series in Omaha will be looking to the skies for any sign of severe weather.
The National Weather Service has issued a wind advisory for much of eastern Nebraska and western Iowa on Saturday. Sustained winds of 25 mph are expected for the area, with gusts of more than 35 mph.
The service predicts thunderstorms in central Nebraska late in the afternoon, moving east into the Omaha area late Saturday night and into Iowa overnight.
The service says the storms could bring damaging winds, large hail and heavy rain. Tornadoes also are possible.
The first game of the College World Series will be played Saturday afternoon, with a second game scheduled for Saturday night.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — D.J. LeMahieu hit a tiebreaking single in a five-run ninth inning, lifting the Colorado Rockies to a 7-4 win over the San Francisco Giants on Friday night.
The Rockies were listless at the plate for most of the night, trailed 4-2 and had gone five straight innings without a hit before rallying off Giants closer Sergio Romo, who went into the night tied for most saves in the majors.
Troy Tulowitzki opened the ninth with a single off Romo (3-2) but was replaced by pinch-runner Charlie Culberson after injuring his foot reaching first base. After Justin Morneau singled, Romo retired Wilin Rosario on a fly to center field. He then intentionally walked Corey Dickerson to load the bases.
Pinch-hitter Ryan Wheeler hit a two-run single before LeMahieu’s soft single to center drove in Dickerson.
The North Platte First Nationals beat Longmont, Colo. 12-9 in a Canon City, Colo. tournament on Friday.
The high scoring game featured 21 runs between the two teams but only 16 hits and North Platte was only responsible for four of those hits. The First Nationals (13-10) took the early lead by scoring four runs in the second inning before Longmont scored six runs in the top of the fourth to go up 6-4. North Platte responded by regaining the lead in the bottom half of the fourth inning with four runs to go up 8-6. The First Nationals added three more runs in the fifth inning and one more in the sixth to secure the 12-9 win.
Luke Volz led the way for North Platte with two of the team’s four hits, including a triple. He also scored two runs in the game. Alec Wesslund went 0-3 at the plate but still managed to get three RBI. Riley Vierya didn’t have an official at bat after drawing three walks, scoring three times and getting an RBI. The First Nationals drew 10 walks as a team.
Volz started on the mound and pitched the first four innings for North Platte. He gave up six runs, three earned, on nine hits. Jack Kenny came in for the final three innings and gave up three unearned runs on three hits while striking out four batters.
The two teams also combined to commit eight errors in the game.
The First Nationals have Saturday off during the tournament before returning to the diamond Sunday in Canon City. It is yet to be determined who or when North Platte will play to finish the tournament.
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Lincoln city officials are replacing their diesel-powered buses with ones powered by compressed natural gas.
The city began the switch on Friday, when officials unveiled five new StarTran buses. The buses are expected to save the city an estimated $1.3 million over their 15-year lifetimes, with reduced maintenance and fuel costs.
Lincoln Mayor Chris Beutler says the buses are quieter and safer, and will produce fewer greenhouse gases than the diesel models.
The first five buses will run on routes through the University of Nebraska-Lincoln campus, starting in August. The city will deploy eight more buses over the next two years, with more to come until all of the diesel buses have been replaced.
Each new bus costs about $484,000. The fuel system costs about $35,000.
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Authorities say the owner of a pickup that killed a 62-year-old Nebraska man reached out to them shortly after the incident and acknowledged through an attorney that he was behind the wheel.
A defense attorney for James Gibbs called Lancaster County Sheriff Terry Wagner two days after the May 29 incident.
According to a deputy’s sworn statement, Gibbs’ attorney acknowledged that the 33-year-old was driving the truck. Attorney Sean Brennan told authorities they could find it at Gibbs’ home in Panama, but said his client would not answer questions.
Authorities say Gibbs owns the pickup that killed 62-year-old Gregory Nicklas. Nicklas was out walking his dog near his home in Hickman.
Brennan was unavailable Friday. Another attorney for Gibbs declined to comment.
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The Nebraska Supreme Court says a state inmate was not harmed by prison rules that limited his access to the prison law library to one hour a day.
The state high court decision came Friday in the case of inmate Christopher Payne, who appealed last year after a Lancaster County District Court granted summary judgment in favor of the state prison at Tecumseh.
Payne argued that he needed more than one hour a day in the prison law library so that he could prepare for an appeal to his criminal conviction and four lawsuits he had filed against authorities.
The state’s high court agreed with the lower court, saying that Payne’s limited access to the law library had not hindered his ability to repeatedly bring his grievances to court.
