KEARNEY, Neb. — A California trucker accused of causing a crash that killed three people in south-central Nebraska has been taken into custody.
Jail records in Madera County show that 34-year-old Kenneth Kratt remained in custody Tuesday after his arrest Friday. He’ll be returned to Kearney, Nebraska, to face three counts of felony manslaughter. Nebraska court records don’t list the name of an attorney who could comment for him.
Details of the Crash
Investigators say Kratt’s semitrailer plowed into the rear of a line of vehicles that had slowed for construction Sept. 20 on Interstate 80 near the Gibbon exit in Buffalo County.
The crash killed a pickup driver, 37-year-old Ryan Vanicek, of Schuyler; and his passenger, 50-year-old Daniel Seelhoff, of Lincoln; as well as 54-year-old Scott Gaylord, of Lincoln, who was driving a sport utility vehicle. Three other people were injured.
Kratt was not seriously injured in the collision.
Interstate 80 was closed for eastbound traffic for approximately seven hours because of the crash.
