A 39-year-old North Platte man is facing felony charges after a crash on the Buffalo Bill viaduct Wednesday night.
At around 11:10 p.m., officers responded to the report of a motor vehicle accident on the Buffalo Bill viaduct, which crosses the Union Pacific tracks.
Officers arrived and discovered that two vehicles were involved in the crash.
It was determined that a 2006 GMC Yukon, driven by 39-year-old Travis Berney, was traveling southbound over the viaduct, well over the posted speed limit, when it encountered a 1998 Ford Ranger, driven by Bobby Ansley, of North Platte, which was also traveling southbound over the viaduct.
According to Investigator John Deal, the Yukon struck the rear-end of the Ranger, causing the Ranger to skid approximately 100 feet and strike the concrete guardrail head-on. Deal says the impact caused the vehicle to roll over onto its top and slide another 200 feet or so down the southbound lane.
The Yukon crossed into the northbound lane and traveled almost 125 feet before striking the guardrail and coming to a stop.
Deal says Ansley was wearing a seatbelt and sustained some minor cuts to his head, but he was not transported to Great Plains Health.
Berney, who was not wearing a seatbelt, was transported to GPH with a lower-leg injury. A passenger in his vehicle, 46-year-old Jose Cardenas, was wearing a seatbelt but was transported to GPH with a lower-leg injury. His status is unknown.
Further investigation led officers to believe that Berney was under the influence of alcohol. Deal says officers noticed that Berney smelled of alcohol and displayed other signs of being intoxicated. He also had a suspended license. A blood draw was done at the hospital to determine Berney’s level of intoxication, however, those results are still pending.
Nonetheless, Deal says a preliminary test determined that Berney was over the legal limit to drive of .08. As a result, he was charged with felony driving under the influence of liquor fourth offense and felony driving under suspension.
Upon his release from the hospital, Berney was placed under arrest and transported to the Lincoln County Detention Center.
Deal says the Ranger was a total loss and the Yukon sustained around $10,000 in damage.