Thirteen people died in car crashes across the state over the past week -- three in Lancaster County -- and officials are trying to find out if there’s a reason beyond bad luck.
“It just went to hell in a handbasket,†said Fred Zwonechek, administrator of the state Office of Highway Safety.
One of the 13 was Lincoln doctor Douglas Dalke, who died when his bicycle was hit on Saltillo Road at 54th Street Monday evening.
Dalke, 57, was wearing a helmet and a bright shirt, Lancaster County Sheriff Terry Wagner said Tuesday.
Local prosecutors charged 26-year-old Everett Hoesing of Hickman with motor vehicle homicide Tuesday and said his blood alcohol content tested at .189, more than twice the legal limit for driving. Lancaster County Court Judge James Foster set Hoesing’s bond at 10 percent of $150,000. He was still in jail Tuesday afternoon.
People are also reading…
Also Tuesday, prosecutors charged Cristofer Cazun, 18, in the Sunday morning death of Randall Woita of Weston. Woita, 50, died after his pickup was rear-ended on U.S. 77 north of Lincoln, Wagner said.
Cazun stands accused of felony manslaughter and driving drunk during a crash that caused serious injury. Foster set his bond at 10 percent of $150,000. He also remained in jail Tuesday.
Police already were looking for Cazun, 2122 S.W. 12th St., regarding a July 28 hit-and-run crash. In that case, police said Cazun was speeding on Southwest 15th Street, tried to turn east onto West Park Street and hit a car parked on the street, then left without stopping.
And on Thursday, 28-year-old Abraham Raymundo of Crete died when Diep Dong tried to pass another car on Southwest 100th Street but ran into Raymundo's Toyota Corolla head on, Wagner said last week. Prosecutors have not charged Dong in the case, court records show.
Three deadly crashes in less than a week on Lancaster County roads is a lot, and deputies are trying to figure out if there’s a link, Wagner said Tuesday.
Times and circumstances were different, he said, adding that nothing has jumped out to explain the string.
“There’s no single common denominator here, but we’re gonna look,†Wagner said.
Zwonechek will do the same by combing through data.
He did say that deadly crashes usually go up in August and September when people are driving more. He’s also seen an increase when there’s a late Husker game at Memorial Stadium.
Fans are driving to get to the game or to watch the game at a friend’s house, a bar or restaurant, Zwonechek said, adding that a late kickoff gives them more time to drink.
Nebraska's home game against Miami kicked off at 7 p.m. Saturday. This week's Nebraska home game against Illinois starts at 8 p.m.
“You’re starting (drinking) earlier and you’re ending later,†he said. “It does probably contribute to driving that might not otherwise happen, and people taking risks they normally wouldn’t.â€
But, he cautioned, he’s not sure if there's a direct connection, if it's coincidence or if they share some common cause he hasn’t discovered.
“It’s something we’re certainly going to look at it,†he said.
Dalke worked as a doctor at the Gastroenterology Specialties and Lincoln Endoscopy Center, according to the center’s website. He did his residency at the University of Nebraska Medical Center after earning his medical degree at the University of Nebraska College of Medicine in Omaha in 1982.
Jill Tinnelly, a patient for 22 years, said Dalke helped her as a doctor and once even paid for her son to play baseball, an especially touching gesture because he’d helped her manage her conditions when she was pregnant.
“He had a big heart. He would listen on a personal level,†she said. “He really cared about you as a person and not just you as a patient and just you as a number.â€
In Cass County, prosecutors charged Edward Koch on Tuesday with two counts of suspicion of motor vehicle homicide in the Sunday evening deaths of a young couple on U.S. 34 near Elmwood.
Deputies arrested Koch Monday afternoon after doctors released him from Bryan West Campus, County Attorney Nathan Cox said.
Killed in the accident were Emily F. Widger, 22, of Lincoln, and Matthew F. Kirchhoff, 24, of Weeping Water.
Koch, 25, of Quincy, Illinois, was driving a 2006 Mazda that hit Kirchhoff's 2006 Nissan Sentra, the sheriff's office said. Authorities have said Koch was speeding and they believe he was drinking.
A judge set his bond at 10 percent of $150,000, Cox said.
Two other fatality accidents occurred in Cass County since Saturday and another in Gage County.
Through Tuesday, 167 deaths had been recorded on Nebraska roads this year. That's more than any of the past five years to date.
