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Man sought for 3 crash deaths in Nebraska held in California

Posted at 3:46 PM, Oct 22, 2019
and last updated 2019-10-22 16:46:33-04

KEARNEY, Neb. (AP) — A California man accused of causing a crash that killed three people in south-central Nebraska has been taken into custody.

Jail records in California’s Madera County say 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.

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.