A 39-year-old North Platte man may face charges following a multi-vehicle crash on North Highway 83 Monday afternoon.

At around 4:25 p.m., Lincoln County deputies responded to the report of a multi-vehicle injury accident near Mile Marker 101, about 15 miles north of North Platte.

Deputies say a southbound Ford Van, driven by Koby Cooper, crossed the center line and struck a northbound Chevrolet S-10 pickup, driven by 73-year-old Florence Lemmer, of Stapleton.  A short time later, a semi hauling plastic barrels of Hydrochloric Acid approached the scene and swerved to avoid hitting the vehicles.  Deputies say this caused the semi, driven by 35-year-old Todd Stapleton, of Cheyenne, Wyoming, to drop one of its containers on the highway, spilling acid.

Authorities say Cooper, Lemmer and a passenger in Lemmer’s vehicle, 88-year-old James Chapman, also of Stapleton, all sustained non-life threatening injuries and were transported to Great Plains Health for treatment. Stapleton was not injured.

Deputies on the scene were exposed to fumes from the acid but remained on the scene.

Chief Deputy Roland Kramer says deputies suspect that Cooper was under the influence of some kind of narcotic at the time of the crash.  They are awaiting the results of chemical tests and say Copper may be charged in the incident at a later time.

The investigation is ongoing.

In addition to LCSO, the Logan County Sheriff’s Office, North Platte Fire and Rescue and the Arnold Fire Department also responded to the scene.