A wreck on Oct. 12 left three people with injuries and limited traffic on Highway 385 south of Alliance near Rock Road.
According to Deputy Marcus Hjersman with the Box Butte County Sheriff’s Office, they received the report of the accident at approximately 10:08 a.m.
An investigation showed that a Ford Focus, driven by Veronica Salazar, was southbound on Highway 385 while a Ford Fusion, driven by Rhonda Burger was northbound on Highway 385. Burger’s vehicle, Hjersman noted, had a passenger in it.
“The southbound vehicle was turning into a property, and turned in front of the northbound car, and the northbound car collided with it,” said Hjersman. “Because of where the accident happened and where the vehicles ended up landing, one was in the northbound lane, blocking traffic. There was debris blocking northbound traffic. So, we ended up diverting traffic over to the southbound lanes and turned it into a two-lane highway with the help of the Alliance Road Department.”
Hjersman explained crews from the Alliance Road Department set up barriers and cones to help direct traffic. He said the Nebraska State Patrol conducted an accident reconstruction, as well.
“The highway was shut down until 2:45 in the afternoon,” Hjersman said.
Three people were transported from the scene, Hjersman said, noting that Salazar sustained serious injuries and Burger sustained a broken ankle. Hjersman said seatbelts were in use in Burger’s vehicle, but they were not in use in Salazar’s. Both vehicles were totaled, and they were towed away by Red Beard Garage.
Hjersman said the investigation is ongoing. Salazar’s family has set up a Go Fund Me page to raise money to cover medical expenses. As of press time, it has raised $3,180.