Beatrice, NE : Four omaha women killed and a man injured in a car crash on Highway 77 Saturday October 24 2015
Four Omaha women were killed and a man injured in a car crash near Beatrice Saturday night.The two-vehicle crash happened south of Beatrice on Highway 77 just after 7:30 p.m.
Three of the women were current business students at Creighton University, and one was a former student, the university confirmed Sunday.
They were identified as: 21-year-old Akuel Majouk, and her three 21-year-old passengers, Mariana Ramirez of Omaha, Jennifer Guzman of Omaha, and Yoselin Deleon of Bellevue.
According to a news release, a Honda SUV was southbound on Highway 77 when Majouk swerved to miss a deer.
The Honda crossed into the northbound lane where it was hit by a northbound Toyota SUV.
The driver of the Toyota, 60-year-old Robert Saunders of Waverly, was flown to Bryan Trauma Center in Lincoln with serious injuries. He is expected to be okay.
Majouk, Guzman and Deleon were current business students at Creighton University, and Ramirez was a former student.
Creighton University sent out a news release Sunday mourning the loss of the four young women, and praying for Saunders'recovery.
Everyone involved in the crash was wearing their seat belts.
The Nebraska State Patrol shut down about a mile of Highway 77 for more than five hours during the investigation.
Creighton University held a Mass in honor of the four victims at 8:30 p.m. Sunday in St. John's Church, followed by a gathering in lower St. John's immediately following the service.
We know Akuel as a friend to everybody and we wish her to be with God," Garang Mathiang said.
Majouk fled South Sudan during a war when she was four years old. She was determined to put herself through college.
She was saying when she graduated in university, she would go back and support poor people back in Africa. So, she's a gift," Rol Deng said.
Deleon shared that passion for helping people and spent her holiday breaks volunteering.
She always wanted to help the poor and see how they lived, to know how to change it," Natalie Varela-Rios said.
Deleon was the first in her family to graduate high school and go to college. She was a role model to her sisters.She really inspired me to give it my all in everything," Alejandra Barela said. "To help people, to always be optimistic."
She just kind of left her mark on everyone," Varela-Rios said.
Guzman's family described her personality as contagious, someone who could always make others laugh or light up a room.
It was just her heart," Jessie Stout said. "She was constantly making herself better. It was her heart. She was born like that.Guzman was studying finance.
She wanted to provide for herself and her family, she definitely wanted to make us proud," Erika Guzman said.
Source:
Gage County crash kills four people