Just after 6:30 a.m. on Saturday morning the Stanton County Sheriff’s office was notified of an apparent accident on Hwy 275 near the Humbug Creek just west of Pilger on Hwy 275. Upon arriving a 2019 Ford pickup was located in the creek partially submerged after it had been eastbound on Hwy 275 and left the roadway going through a guard rail and became airborne entering the creek. No occupants were located at the scene and the area was checked with a drone to verify no injured parties in the water or away from the scene. The pickup was a total loss with airbags having deployed and fuel was leaking into the waterway. The owner was found and contacted by phone and advised he had been in an accident around midnight and was not sure of many other details and advised he was going to the hospital in Norfolk. Further attempts to contact him were fruitless until Saturday evening when he went to Faith Health for treatment. Alex Mucker, 29, of Omaha was treated there for injuries he received in the accident and was also cited for Leaving the Scene of an Accident. It is unclear if drugs or alcohol were involved due to the time lapse in the investigation and delayed contact with Mucker. Norfolk Fire Division also responded to the scene for a hazardous spills call out with fuel in the water and deployed portable collection booms around and downstream from the accident scene. Pilger Fire and Stanton County Emergency Management also responded to the scene that was finally cleared around noon. Nebraska DOT was also on scene with major damage to the bridge guardrail. “We are thankful the lone driver was not seriously injured and remind everyone to report any such incident immediately to authorities, so that it can be dealt with right away, This bridge area has been the scene of numerous injury and fatal accidents during my tenure and will be replaced in the near future.” SHERIFF MIKE UNGER
