At about 5:25 p.m. on Friday evening the Stanton County Sheriff’s office responded to and investigated an unusual traffic accident on Hwy 15 about Five miles South of Pilger that sent a 17 year old Winside youth to the hospital with critical injuries. The accident occurred when a northbound pickup driven by Douglas Nelson, 69, of Wayne was using a flatbed trailer to move a section of irrigation pipe. Behind the irrigation pipe was an older attached pickup being used to steer the rear end of the long irrigation unit That steering pickup had its passenger side wheels go off the roadway and it veered across the highway coming unattached from the irrigation pipe and the pickup struck an embankment in the west ditch causing the cab of the second pickup to come loose from its chassis and the cab rolled into a private driveway ejecting that steering operator Colton Navrkal through the wind shield of that pickup onto the ground. Navrkal was treated at the scene by Pilger Fire and Rescue and was then transported directly from the scene by LifeNet medical helicopter to a Sioux City, IA trauma center. The accident remains under investigation and Hwy 15 was closed for about 1 ½ hours as the scene was investigated and cleared. Stanton County Emergency Management also responded and assisted with traffic control. *Update* As of Tuesday, Navrakal remains hospitalized and has undergone several surgeries for his injuries.
