A Great Bend man may face criminal charges for the vehicular death of a Prosser, Neb., man last April.
Victor Allende was booked in to the Barton County Jail on Sunday to hold for Adams County, Neb., on a charge of manslaughter.
On April 24, Allende was involved in a three-vehicle accident west of Hastings, Neb., that claimed the life of Neal Sahling, 52. According to the Hastings Tribune, the accident happened at 11:24 a.m. on U.S. 6. On that Tuesday morning, Allende, 46, was driving a Kenworth semitrailer carrying grain that struck the rear of an International straight truck driven by Douglas Mattes, 63, of Omaha. The straight truck was pushed into the westbound lane, where it collided with the oncoming Ford pickup Sahling was driving. Sahling died at the scene.
Mattes was hospitalized for his injuries, while Allende was bruised in the collision but refused medical treatment at the scene. There were no passengers in any of the vehicles.
U.S. 6 was closed for about six hours. The Hastings Tribune reported, “At the scene, the pickup was a nearly unrecognizable heap of scrap metal. The straight truck spun in the impact and came to a stop facing west in the north ditch. The engine of the vehicle had been pushed in and the cargo area had been torn open, spraying a load of vehicle batteries across the highway.
“The semitrailer veered off to the northeast onto a grassy area. ... Momentum carried the vehicle about 60 feet from the collision where the vehicle landed on its passenger side, spilling a load of grain.”
KOLN-TV reported Sahling was safety officer for The Wood River Volunteer Fire Department. The television station also reported that, according to the Nebraska Highway Patrol, the truck had stopped at a railroad cross before being rear-ended by the semi.