PLATTSMOUTH, Neb. (AP) — Authorities say a 13-year-old girl was at the wheel during a car crash that fatally injured another teenager at a wildlife refuge in eastern Nebraska.

The Cass County Sheriff’s Office says the accident was reported a little before 9 p.m. Monday at the Schilling Wildlife Refuge, which is on the northeast side of Plattsmouth.

Deputies say the girl lost control of the car as it raced down a gravel road. A 14-year-old girl in the back seat was ejected when the car rolled. She was pronounced dead later at an Omaha hospital. Deputies identified her as 14-year-old Alexandria Wood, of Plattsmouth.

The young driver and a 21-year-old passenger in the front seat were hospitalized.

PILGER, Neb. (AP) — Officials say the tornado that swept through Pilger destroyed between 45 and 50 homes.

The Nebraska Emergency Management Agency released the numbers in a news release on Tuesday. Officials say 10 to 12 homes were also demolished in Dixon County in northeast Nebraska.

The National Weather Service says four tornadoes touched down during the massive storm, killing a 5-year-old girl in Pilger and a 74-year-old man who was driving in Cuming County.

NEMA says the two fatalities are the first tornado deaths in Nebraska in 10 years.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Bail has been set for a 13-year-old boy facing an accessory charge in the shooting death of an Omaha man.

The boy must pay 10 percent of $5,000 in order to be released from jail.

The teen, along with boys ages 15, 16 and 17, are accused of being connected to the death of 23-year-old Brandon Wallace. He was found wounded on the front porch of his home and died June 7 at an Omaha hospital.

A warrant has been issued for a fifth teen, though it’s unclear how he is connected to the case.

The Associated Press generally doesn’t name juveniles accused of crimes.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Federal regulators say the evaluation of unlikely flood threats to Nebraska’s two nuclear power plants will be thorough even though some scenarios won’t be considered.

The utilities are re-examining flood threats at Fort Calhoun and Cooper nuclear plants as part of an industrywide review after the 2011 Japanese meltdowns. Both Nebraska plants sit on the Missouri River.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission dropped two of five dam failure scenarios from the review.

NRC spokeswoman Lara Uselding said Tuesday one of the scenarios was eliminated because the Corps of Engineers determined that the combination of dam failure, flooding and earthquake wasn’t a credible threat.

The other scenario eliminated was similar to another one that will be reviewed.

Uselding says the review of flood threats will be robust and thorough.

 

PILGER, Neb. (AP) — The National Weather Service in Valley says the Pilger tornado appears to be an EF4, with estimated wind speeds of 166 to 200 mph.

Meteorologist Van DeWald said Tuesday that survey teams found several damage points that indicate an EF4 tornado, the second-strongest rating on the scale that measures tornado strength.

The National Weather Service says four tornadoes likely touched the ground during the massive storm in northeast Nebraska.

DeWald says the first tornado to touch down west of Stanton has damage that suggests a least an EF3 rating, with wind speeds of 136 to 165 mph. The first tornado is believed to have traveled 15 miles on the ground.

DeWald says crews are still surveying damage and haven’t yet determined how long the Pilger tornado was on the ground.

 

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — President Barack Obama has declared a disaster in parts of southeastern and eastern Nebraska following severe weather in May.

The declaration Tuesday means federal emergency aid is available to supplement recovery efforts being conducted by state and local officials. The funding will also be available to certain private nonprofit organizations on a cost-sharing basis.

The money can be used for emergency work, repairs and facility replacements.

The severe weather included heavy rains, tornadoes, straight-line winds and flooding on May 11 and May 12. The money will help Clay, Fillmore, Saline, Saunders, Seward, and York counties.

PILGER, Neb. (AP) — Authorities have identified a 74-year-old man killed by one of the tornadoes that swept through northeast Nebraska.

The Cuming County sheriff’s office says David A. Herout, of Clarkson, Nebraska, died after his vehicle left the roadway during the storm.

Officials say Herout was ejected from the vehicle around 4:50 p.m. on a county road approximately 2.5 miles east of Pilger. Cuming County officials are still investigating.

The National Weather Service says four tornadoes appear to have hit the region on Monday night, including one that destroyed most of the town of Pilger.

One of the tornadoes also killed a 5-year-old girl in Pilger. The girl has not been identified.

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A woman hospitalized after a Lincoln apartment fire has died.

Authorities say 30-year-old Brianna Johnson died Sunday.

The fire was reported around 6:20 p.m. Wednesday in a building several blocks southeast of downtown. A fire investigator says the blaze started when spaghetti and meatballs on an electric stove were left unattended. The flames spread to some cabinets and a can of grease, which helped fuel it.

Firefighters found Johnson unresponsive in the smoke-filled apartment.

PILGER, Neb. (AP) — The brother of a girl killed in a northeast Nebraska tornado says his mother is in a medically induced coma in Omaha.

Cody Murphree released a statement Tuesday saying his mother, 42-year-old Kandi Murphree, was being treated after the tornado destroyed their home in Pilger. His sister, 5-year-old Calista Dixon, was one of two people killed in the storm.

The statement says the tornado did not seriously harm Cody Murphree or his 4-year-old sister, who was not identified. The statement was released through his employer, Heritage Homes of Nebraska in Wayne.

No funeral arrangements have been made for Calista Dixon. The statement says donations are needed for girl’s clothing and men’s clothing, non-perishable food items and possible help with housing for the two surviving siblings.

DENVER (AP) — A federal judge has taken the unusual step of asking prosecutors to investigate whether Denver police tried to intimidate a witness in a jail-abuse suit against the city.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office hasn’t said whether it will pursue Judge John Kane’s request.

The latest allegations against the police and sheriff’s departments came as part of a civil rights lawsuit filed in Denver by former inmate Jamal Hunter, who says a sheriff’s deputy not only failed to protect him during a July 2011 beating by fellow inmates but encouraged the attack.

Experts say such inquiries rarely yield criminal charges.

Nancy Leong, an associate professor at the University of Denver’s Sturm College of Law, says the cases are a challenge for prosecutors, who have to prove not just that an officer violated someone’s civil rights but that they intended to.