One person was killed and another is injured after a large tree fell on a truck in Waterloo during Saturday’s storm.
The Waterloo Volunteer Fire Department confirmed that one person, a woman, was killed after a Cottonwood tree fell on a truck at Two Rivers State Park. The woman was declared dead at the scene.
WVFD says the other passenger, a man, was pinned in the vehicle, which had sustained extensive damage from the tree.
Extraction of the male passenger was difficult due to the size and weight of the tree. Extraction of the man took approximately 90 minutes.
Once extracted, the man was taken to the Nebraska Medical Center with life-threatening injuries, WVFD said.
The two had moved from their camping tent into their vehicle as the storm was coming in, authorities told First Alert 6.
First-responders arrived at the scene just before 7 a.m. Saturday. Multiple agencies assisted with the emergency call, including Waterloo, Valley, Yutan, and Omaha fire departments, the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office, and Nebraska Game and Parks.
“We are deeply saddened by the loss of life in this tragic incident and want to express our heartfelt condolences to the victim’s family. We are also grateful for the coordinated efforts of all the agencies involved in this complex rescue,” WVFD said in a statement.
Gov. Jim Pillen said Nebraska emergency management teams have been assessing reports of injuries at several state recreation areas after Saturday morning’s storms.
