(AP) — An 82-year-old Nebraska woman has been identified as the driver of a vehicle that struck and killed an Omaha cyclist.

Police said Friday that Ruth Jeffers of La Vista was driving the 2002 Ford Taurus that crossed the center line Thursday and struck Jim Johnston, who was biking in the other direction.

Jeffers hasn’t been charged, but the investigation continues.

Johnston was flown by helicopter to a hospital, where the 56-year-old died a short time later. He was the athletic trainer at Millard West High School, where teachers burst into tears during a staff meeting called to announce his death.

Math teacher Seth Turman says Johnston was probably out for his daily ride when he was struck.

A message was left for Jeffers on Friday.

(AP) — Attorneys for Creighton University say they will fight a request for the Omaha school to pay more than $600,000 in attorneys’ fees for a deaf medical student who successfully sued the school for discrimination.

Michael Argenyi (ar-GEN’-ee) sued Creighton in 2009, after leaving medical school when Creighton refused his requests for interpreters — even though he offered to pay for them himself. Last year, a federal judge ruled that Creighton must provide Argenyi with special equipment and interpreters to allow him to finish medical school. The judge did not require the university to reimburse Argenyi for $110,000 he had already spent for interpreters and special equipment.

Last week, Argenyi’s lawyers filed a motion seeking nearly $621,000. Creighton’s attorney, Michael P. Scott, said Friday that the request is excessive.

(AP) — A Lancaster County prosecutor has been selected to fill a district court judgeship opening in Lincoln.

Gov. Dave Heineman’s office announced Friday that Lori Maret was chosen. The opening was created by the retirement of Judge Karen Flowers on Dec. 31.

The two other finalists were Richard Rice and Melanie Whittamore-Mantzios, both of Lincoln.

The governor’s office says the 45-year-old Maret has been deputy Lancaster County attorney since 2002. She was awarded her law degree at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

(AP) — No injuries have been reported from an explosion on a natural gas pipeline in eastern Nebraska.

The line erupted about 8:30 a.m. Friday near the intersection of county roads 20 and O, about six miles north of Fremont. No damage to any structures has been reported.

Firefighters from four departments were waiting nearby for workers to turn off the gas flow. The flames towered dozens of feet into the sky, and the heat kept firefighters from getting close enough to see what caused the blast.

(AP) — The death of a 35-year-old Iowa man after a Nebraska traffic stop in November has been blamed on methamphetamine.

Dakota County Attorney Kim Watson says a grand jury has found that no crime was involved in the death of Matthew Ahlsten, of Sioux City. Watson said in a news release Wednesday that autopsy tests showed Ahlsten died as a result of methamphetamine toxicity. His death was ruled an accident.

Ahlsten was a passenger in a vehicle pulled over by the trooper on Nov. 3. Ahlsten soon suffered a seizure and became unresponsive. Officials say he died before he could be taken to a hospital.

Dakota County Sheriff Chris Kleinberg has said the vehicle driver didn’t know Ahlsten and was merely giving him a ride.

(AP) — A man who was found not guilty of a Hastings murder by reason of insanity must remain in the state psychiatric hospital.

A judge made the ruling Tuesday at the annual review for 36-year-old Jayson Garett.

Authorities say Garett has a bipolar disorder and was in a manic phase when he stabbed to death 45-year-old Daryl Peed at Peed’s home on March 27, 2004. Authorities say the two men didn’t know each other.

A hospital staff psychiatrist testified Tuesday that Garett had made progress but concerns remain.

(AP) — Authorities say a bicyclist has been killed in the Omaha area after a vehicle collided into him.

The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office says 56-year-old James Johnston was struck Thursday afternoon just west of Omaha. He was airlifted to a nearby hospital and died a short time later.

Additional information about the driver of the vehicle has not been released. The crash remains under investigation.

(AP) — A 20-year-old woman has dropped an appeal of her conviction for sneaking onto the campus of the Catholic high school she once attended in Lincoln and posing naked for her adult website.

Valerie Dodds’ lawyer said Dodds has decided to move on with her life.

Dodds posed at Lincoln Pius X in May. Dodds said on her website that the photo shoot was revenge against students and teachers who gave Dodds grief when she shared her plans for a porn career.

Dodds had faced three new public nudity charges for exposing herself at other spots in Lincoln last year. Her attorney, Chad Wythers, says Dodds reached an agreement with prosecutors, who said they would dismiss the cases if she withdrew her appeal.

(AP) — Authorities say a Nebraska State Penitentiary caseworker has resigned, accused of trying to smuggle contraband into the prison.

Jeremiah Dunn has quit his job.

Spokeswoman Dawn-Renee Smith of the Nebraska Correctional Services Department says Dunn was found with the contraband during a search upon entering the prison on Saturday. The items were a cellphone and some tobacco.

Department policy bars trading and trafficking items for inmates. Smith says that includes transaction or delivery of any item other than through department-authorized channels.

Jail records say Dunn has left custody. A public phone listing for him couldn’t be found, and online court records don’t list the name of his attorney.

(AP) — A car passenger has died after a collision at a rural intersection in southeast Nebraska’s Jefferson County.

The accident occurred around 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, about a mile north of Plymouth.

Sheriff Nels Sorensen says a westbound auto driven by 40-year-old Steven Cordis, of Ohiowa, ran a stop sign and was struck by a southbound car driven by 60-year-old Mary Pearson, of DeWitt. Pearson’s car hit a power pole after the collision.

Pearson was taken to Beatrice Community Hospital for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries. Cordis refused treatment.

A passenger in Cordis’ car, 39-year-old Francisca Campbell, of Lincoln, was flown to a Lincoln hospital. The sheriff says she died there about 8 p.m. Wednesday.