A 14-year-old Jefferson County boy and his 4-year-old sister were killed Sunday night when their vehicle struck a deer and collided with another vehicle near Kearney, Neb., authorities said Monday.
Nebraska State Patrol investigators believe several deer crossing Interstate 80 caused the crash that took the lives of Michael Betts, an eighth-grader at Falcon Bluffs Middle School, and his sister Cora.
Four other family members were injured.
Students at Falcon Bluffs were sent home with letters Monday notifying their parents of the boy’s death. Michael Betts was an avid skateboarder and popular among other students at the school, Jefferson County Public Schools spokeswoman Lynn Setzer said.
“The kids are talking about different ideas about what they can do to honor Michael,” Setzer said.
The crash happened around 8:45 p.m., 15 miles west of Kearney. Michael Betts Jr., 37, of the Littleton area, was driving the minivan that hit the deer, said Deb Collins, a spokeswoman for the Nebraska State Patrol.
Manny Gonzales, The Denver Post
