Colon, NE : One person dead, several suffered injuries in a car-van accident in eastern Nebraska on Tuesday, December 15, 2015

A Wahoo man died and several other people were taken to area hospitals after his vehicle and a traveling ministries van collided on Nebraska Highway 109, near Colon.

Walter Anderson, 88, was pronounced dead at the scene. The passenger in his vehicle, Peggy Shapnek, 63, of Wahoo was transported to Bryan West Medical Center in Lincoln.

Ten occupants of the van were transported to either Fremont Health Medical Center or Saunders County Medical Center in Wahoo, stated information from the Saunders County Sheriff’s Office.

The accident occurred at 8:02 p.m. when Theresa M. Nguyen, 22, of Louisiana, who was driving a NET Ministries Inc. van, attempted to make a U-turn to travel south on Nebraska Highway 109, just south of County Road R.

Anderson was southbound on the highway when his vehicle collided with the van.

Twelve people age 18 or older were in the van. The people were one of four NET Ministries teams.

Through NET Ministries, people ages 18 to 25, take a year off school to conduct retreats in Catholic churches and schools, said Mark Berchem, founder and president.

The team in the accident had been serving during the first half of the school year in the western United States. The NET team was headed back to the organization’s Minnesota headquarters for a short Christmas retreat.

“And then they were going to go home for Christmas break,” Berchem said.

The team planned to spend the night in a place near where the accident occurred.

Berchem said the driver of the van, which was pulling a trailer with luggage and musical instruments, was making the U-turn after missing a turn due to construction in the area.

Six ambulances from Cedar Bluffs, Colon, Fremont Advanced Life Support Services and Wahoo fire departments transported van occupants.

One van passenger was transported to the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha.

Two van passengers were taken by personal vehicle to a local hospital, the sheriff’s department reported.

Berchem said the passenger in the Anderson vehicle was seriously injured.

As of Tuesday, one NET team member remained hospitalized in serious condition, but seemed to be improving.

“As far as we know, there’s no major physical injury to the remaining team members,” Berchem said.

Team members have been shaken by the situation. They’re concerned for the hospitalized team member and very saddened by the tragic loss of life, he said.

“We are praying for all who were involved,” Berchem noted on the NET website.

“There’s been an outpouring of support from the broader NET and broader Catholic community, sending messages of prayers, support and thoughts,” Berchem told the Tribune. “We are extremely grateful for the exceptional work of the first responders - the sheriff’s department, fire and medical first responders … the team members we talked with were just very impressed with the personal concern they exhibited and the professional and efficient manner in which they worked.”

Additional investigation showed that a firefighter at the scene wasn’t struck by a vehicle, but received injuries due to a fall.

The Nebraska State Patrol is conducting an accident reconstruction.

Capt. Steven Malina of the Saunders County Sheriff’s Department said there were no contributing factors such as fog involved in the accident.

“It’s a dark highway out in the country. We don’t have street lights out there,” Malina said. “Unfortunately, there’s no shoulders on that road. It’s hard to turn around.”

Source :

Wahoo man dies in accident