COLUMBUS, Neb. (AP) — The body of a trucker has been found inside his semitrailer at a convenience store in Columbus.
Columbus police had been contacted by the Platte County Sheriff’s Office about finding the driver, who hadn’t been heard from.
The truck was found after 10 p.m. Sunday in the store’s parking lot. Officers broke into the cab and found the body.
They don’t suspect any crime was committed in the man’s death. His name hasn’t been released.
NORFOLK, Neb. (AP) — Authorities in northeast Nebraska say an unattended propane turkey fryer ignited a fire that caused about $30,000 worth of damage to a garage.
The Norfolk Fire Division responded to the home on Sunday and found smoke billowing out of the windows and roof of the garage. Firefighters say there were several small propane tanks that were venting because of heat from the flames.
It took responders about 15 minutes to extinguish the blaze.
No injuries were reported.
ST. LOUIS (AP) — Police say they’ve arrested three teenagers after a man was beaten to death with hammers in St. Louis.
Police say 32-year-old Zemir Begic was in his car about 1:15 a.m. Sunday when several young people approached and began damaging it. He suffered injuries to his head, abdomen, face and mouth, and was pronounced dead at a hospital.
A 17-year-old suspect turned himself in late Sunday, after 15- and 16-year-old suspects were taken into custody.
About 50 people briefly blocked an intersection Sunday night in the community to protest the killing. Begic, who was Bosnian, moved to St. Louis this year.
Police Chief Sam Dotson says there’s no indication Begic was targeted because he was Bosnian.
A motive in the killing hasn’t been released.
OAKLAND, Iowa (AP) — Two men have been thrown from a vehicle and killed in western Iowa.
The Pottawattamie County Sheriff’s Office says the accident was reported about 5 a.m. Sunday about six miles east of Oakland. The Sheriff’s Office says the car was headed east on U.S. Highway 6 when it left the pavement, rammed through a fence and rolled several times, ejecting both men.
The two crash victims were identified as 30-year-old Eric Poole, of Atlantic; and 19-year-old Nathan Poole, of Omaha, Nebraska. It’s unclear whether they were brothers or otherwise related.
The crash is being investigated.
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A 22-year-old man has been arrested after his car struck a police cruiser in southwest Omaha.
The incident occurred about 2:20 a.m. Monday. No injuries have been reported.
Police say the officer had parked his cruiser with its emergency lights flashing while he was diverting traffic from a downed overhead wire. The car struck the rear passenger side of the cruiser.
Police say the man then drove off, but he was stopped within a few blocks and taken into custody.
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Lancaster County and Lincoln police have started Operation Tipping Point, a program aimed at helping keep at-risk youth from joining gangs.
Lincoln Police Capt. Jon Sundermeier, who helps lead the program, says officials think gang crime is “on the uptick.” He said authorities became concerned that gang activity was increasing after the 2013 shooting death of a 20-year-old by a gang rival, who then fatally shot himself.
Community service providers and law enforcement meet monthly as a part of Operation Tipping Point to brainstorm ways to help youths stay away from gangs.
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Omaha police say a woman has been critically injured after being shot and crashing her car.
Twenty-one-year-old Nicole Kydney of Omaha says she was sitting in her car on Sunday when a person got in and shot her. She says the suspect fled and that she tried to drive away.
Kydney crashed her car into a fence about 2 miles away. She was taken to an area hospital in critical condition. Police say the injuries aren’t believed to be life threatening.
No arrests have been reported.
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Authorities say a man is recovering from hypothermia after his car fell into a Lincoln creek.
Lincoln Fire & Rescue took about 30 minutes to rescue the man on Sunday. Battalion Chief Jeanne Pashalek says the car was upright and the man was sitting in the water. She says the car had likely been in the creek for more than an hour.
He was taken to an area hospital in an unknown condition. His identity hasn’t been released.
The Lincoln Police Department is investigating.
FERGUSON, Mo. (AP) — Ferguson officials plan to address the resignation of a police officer who fatally shot 18-year-old Michael Brown, as his parents prepared to attend a church service where civil rights activist the Rev. Al Sharpton was scheduled to preach.
Darren Wilson, who had been on administrative leave since the Aug. 9 shooting, resigned Saturday, effective immediately, according to his lawyer, Neil Bruntrager, who declined further comment. An attorney for Brown’s family didn’t immediately return messages seeking comment.
Stephanie Karr, city attorney for Ferguson, says officials planned to make a statement on Wilson’s resignation Sunday. Karr earlier this week said Wilson had been on paid leave pending the outcome of an internal police investigation.
COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) — A 5-year-old Iowa girl has died two weeks after she was hit by a truck while sledding down her grandfather’s driveway.
Kailey Maloney died Saturday at the Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha. She had been treated there since her Nov. 16 injury.
Maloney was sledding down the driveway of her grandfather’s property. She was hit by a 2005 Chevrolet pickup truck after she slid into the street.
Police say no charges have been filed in this incident.
