2 women killed, children hurt in western Nebraska crash

HARRISON, Neb. (AP) — Authorities say two women were killed and three children were seriously hurt in a western Nebraska crash involving livestock trailers that also killed several animals. The Scottsbluff Star-Herald reports that the crash happened Friday night on U.S. Highway 20 just east of Harrison. The Nebraska State Patrol says 67-year-old Ruth Smathers, of Lost Springs, Wyoming, and 42-year-old Nanna Flesch, of Shelby, Montana, were killed in the collision. Patrol investigators say each woman was driving and each was pulling a loaded livestock trailer when they collided head-on. Both were pronounced dead at the scene. The patrol says Flesch’s three children were also in her vehicle and were hospitalized with serious injuries. Several animals in the trailers also were killed in the crash.