CUSTER, S.D. (AP) — A Fourth of July hot dog eating contest in South Dakota turned tragic when a contestant choked to death.

Custer County Sheriff Rick Wheeler says 47-year-old Walter Eagle Tail, of Custer, died Thursday at a hospital after attempts to save him failed at the scene.

The Custer Chamber of Commerce sponsored the contest. The group canceled a pie-eating contest scheduled for Friday.

Chamber Executive Director Dave Ressler says the group is “at a loss for words.”

Speed-eating competitions are popular over the Fourth of July weekend. Eight-time champion Joey “Jaws” Chestnut managed to eat 61 hot dogs in 10 minutes at the annual Coney Island contest on Friday, eight short of the record 69 he swallowed in the 2013 competition.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Omaha police have released the names of a woman who was fatally injured and a man who was hurt when the truck he was driving slammed into a signal pole.

The crash happened around 1:30 p.m. Sunday.

The woman passenger was identified as 25-year-old Sharlee Arnett. The man was identified as 26-year-old Nicholas Marescalco.

Police say there wasn’t any sign the truck tried to slow before veering off the road and hitting the pole.

Sgt. Jason Menning says homicide investigators are working with the department’s traffic unit to investigate the crash.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Police have cited a Lincoln man who officers say was making illegal fireworks in a house where his wife operates an in-home day care.

Lincoln police spokeswoman Katie Flood said Monday that a state inspector went to the house last week to check the day care. Flood says the inspector found supplies and tools for making fireworks in a spare bedroom.

Fire investigators and a Nebraska State Patrol bomb expert seized the explosives. Flood says the fireworks were illegal because they contained too much flash powder.

Richard Haxton was cited for the fireworks and child neglect. Kasi Haxton was cited for misdemeanor child abuse.

A phone listing for the couple is no longer in service. Online court records don’t list the names of their attorneys.

BEATRICE, Neb. (AP) — A couple who used to run a Beatrice bar say a former employee has sent them $200 and an apology.

Pamela and Gibb Hedges said the couple owned Gibb’s sports bar for 30 years but sold it two years ago. They say they got the letter on Thursday. The woman told them that she’d stolen money from the business when she worked there 15 years ago.

Pamela Hedges says she and her husband don’t remember the woman but intend to write her back and commend her for her “very courageous act.” They also intend to cash the woman’s check.

The station says the couple didn’t want to make the woman’s name public.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A 12-year-old Lincoln girl is recovering from a bullet that tore through her back into a lung and shoulder at a Fourth of July party.

Paige Meyer said, at a Lincoln hospital, that she was “just happy to be alive.”

Lincoln Police Capt. Jim Davidsaver says 42-year-old Ronald Marsh was at the party with 10 to 12 other people when his .380-caliber handgun fell out of a pocket on his shorts, hit the ground and fired. The bullet struck Paige in the middle of her back and went out her right shoulder.

Her dad, Brian Meyer, says Marsh has apologized over and over. Marsh has been cited for unlawful discharge of a firearm.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Authorities estimate that about 1,000 large animals were killed by the June 16 storms that roared through northeast Nebraska, destroying more than half of Pilger.

Marty Marks of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service office in Wayne County says the toll could be 1,000 in a six-county region, plus hundreds of chickens and other poultry.

Producers aren’t required to report livestock losses to the government, and businesses such as cattle feeding operations generally don’t insure individual animals.

The EF4 tornado that struck Pilger killed a 5-year-old girl in town and a motorist a few miles east of town.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Omaha police are investigating a crash that left one person dead and another in critical condition after a pickup truck slammed into a light pole.

The crash happened around 1:30 p.m. Sunday near 112th and Q streets in west Omaha.

Omaha Police Sgt. Doug Klein says there wasn’t any sign the truck tried to slow down before veering off the road and hitting the pole.

A passenger was thrown from the truck and died later at the Nebraska Medical Center. The truck’s driver was initially trapped in the vehicle before being taken to the hospital in critical condition.

Officials didn’t immediately release the victims’ names Sunday afternoon.

DENVER (AP) — Authorities say two police officers in suburban Denver were shot and wounded as they tried check on the welfare of a man.

The Lakewood Police Department dispatch office says that the officers were shot Saturday night and the suspected shooter is in custody.

Lakewood police spokesman Steve Davis tells station KUSA that the officers’ injuries aren’t life-threatening, thanks in part to their bullet-proof vests.

He says that the officers were trying to check on the man at the request of a woman. When they arrived at the residence, the man came outside and started shooting.

Davis says the suspect was also wounded, but didn’t elaborate.

No other details were immediately available.

The violence in Lakewood, a few miles to the west of downtown Denver, occurred near the intersection of West Jewell Avenue and South Kipling Street.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska families can take a free online class to learn more about education plans for students with disabilities.

Southeast Community College says the class is available now.

The class teaches families about the rules school district’s follow when drafting individual educational plans for students.

A grant covered the cost of developing the class, and the grant is covering the tuition.

Anyone interested in taking the course should contact the continuing education department at 402-437-2700.

NEW YORK (AP) — “Transformers: Age of Extinction” beat out Melissa McCarthy’s “Tammy” on a weak July 4th weekend at the box office.

According to studio estimates Sunday, the fourth “Transformers” film made $36.4 million in its second week of release. It’s a steep drop for the Paramount Pictures sequel, which had the year’s biggest debut last weekend with $100 million.

The New Line comedy “Tammy,” released by Warner Bros., took in $21.2 million in its opening weekend, well below expectations. The Midwest road trip romp opened on Wednesday, and had a $32.9 million gross over its first five days.

Sony Screen Gem’s horror flick “Deliver Us From Evil” came in third with $9.5 million in its debut.