A truck driver lost his life during a brutal spring blizzard that crippled much of the midwest and left dozens of drivers stranded over the weekend.
The fatal crash happened on Friday, April 13, near Chappell, Nebraska, according to the Nebraska State Patrol. Authorities say that 61 year old Idaho Falls-based truck driver Rollo Ward was traveling east on I-80 during winter weather conditions when he lost control and crashed into a median, colliding with another truck that was already stranded by the storm.
Ward was pronounced dead at the scene.
The Nebraska State Patrol estimates that they rescued around 100 drivers who were stranded by the blizzard. Troopers joined forces with local police departments, sheriff’s offices, and the Nebraska Department of Transportation to rescue stranded drivers.
@KETV @LaurannRobinson @MattSerweKETV This is I80 in Sidney, NE pic.twitter.com/UTWZX4ouYD
— Steve Stimson (@armylifer35) April 15, 2018
The blizzard was so damaging that Nebraska Governor Pete Ricketts issued a state of emergency declaration on Saturday.