18-year-old dies in car accident

An 18-year-old Brady, Neb., man was killed early Sunday when the pickup he was driving drifted off U.S. Highway 30 in Lincoln County, hit a pole and rolled at least two times, the Sheriff's Office there said.

Investigators think the driver — identified as David L. Pederson Jr. — fell asleep while driving the 1976 Ford pickup. It had been traveling east on the highway before crossing the oncoming lane and crashing on the north side of the road.

Sheriff's deputies were not sure exactly when the collision occurred. Several motorists most likely drove past the crash scene before someone called 911, the Sheriff's Office said.

Pederson had not been using a seat belt and was thrown from pickup, the Sheriff's Office said.

The collision remained under investigation Sunday. ­
— Susan Szalewski