The Nebraska State Patrol has identified three people who were killed in a crash Friday afternoon on I-80 near Gibbon.
Investigators say traffic had slowed as it was entering a construction zone on eastbound I-80 around 3:00. The patrol says a semi driver failed to slow down and struck the traffic from the rear.
The initial collision caused a chain reaction, involving seven vehicles. The first vehicle struck by the semi was a Chevrolet Silverado, driven by 37 year old Ryan Vanicek of Schuyler. Vanicek was life-flighted to Good Samaritan Hospital in Kearney, where he died.
His passenger, 50 year old Daniel Seelhoff of Lincoln, was pronounced dead at the scene. The driver of another vehicle, 54 year old Scott Gaylord of Lincoln, was transported to Good Samaritan Hospital in Kearney where he was pronounced dead. Three other people sustained non-life threatening injuries.
The driver of the semi, 34 year old Kenneth Kratt of Madera, California, was not seriously injured The investigation into what happened is continuing.