The investigation continues into a crash that left a 73-year-old North Platte man dead.

According to Investigator John Deal, officers responded to the accident on Newberry Access, near the Flying J truck stop, at around 3:10 p.m. on Thursday.

Deal says officers observed a Ford pickup that was in the median and on its top.

It was determined that the pickup was traveling northbound and was south of the Walker Road intersection.  Deal says a semi was stopped at the stop sign on Walker Road facing east and turned north onto Newberry Access.  The semi had completed its turn when it was struck in the rear by the pickup, driven by 40-year-old Emmett Wood, of North Platte.

Deal says the pickup rolled several times, and witnesses reported that it was traveling at a high rate of speed before it struck the semi’s trailer.

A passenger in the pickup, 73-year-odl Michael B. Torres, Sr, also of North Platte, was transported to Great Plains Health where he died a short time later.

Wood was transported to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries.  The semi driver, 30-year-old Jeffry Owens of Arlington, Tx, was not transported by EMS, and Deal said he does not know if he was injured.

Neither Wood nor Torres were wearing their seatbelts at the time of the crash.

Deal says both drivers submitted to a legal blood draw, per state law, but the results of those tests will not be available for several days.

The Nebraska State Patrol and the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office assisted with the investigation.

The investigation is ongoing.