Omaha, NE : 19-year-old Ralston woman killed in SUV-semi crash near Valley on Sunday, February 26, 2017

A 19-year-old Ralston woman was killed when a small sport utility vehicle crashed into a semitrailer truck about 6:30 p.m. Sunday on U.S. Highway 275 near Valley.

The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office said Tyler Cherrington died at the crash scene. She had been driving a 2004 Buick Rainier.

The semi driver, Kreg Mitteis, 59, of Orchard, Neb., was not injured, the Sheriff's Office said.

The truck had been hauling 37 head of cattle, and no cattle deaths were reported, said Sgt. Jennifer Birkhofer of the Sheriff’s Office. A cattle company helped unload the animals from the semi and load them onto another.

The crash shut down highway traffic in both directions for much of Sunday night.

The SUV had been heading west on Highway 275, toward Fremont, when it crossed the median on the divided, four-lane stretch of roadway and went into the path of the eastbound semi, Birkhofer said.

The cause of the crash remains under investigation, the Sheriff's Office said.

No other occupants were inside the vehicles, but first responders initially feared that a child might have been thrown from the SUV, Birkhofer said. An Omaha police helicopter helped search for other possible victims but found none.

Other law enforcement agencies that helped with the crash included the Nebraska State Patrol and police from Waterloo, Valley and Bennington. Volunteer firefighters from Valley and Waterloo also responded.

Source :
Woman, 19, killed in SUV-semi crash near Valley