Boat thrown onto road in Friday collision

No one was injured when two pickups, one pulling a boat, collided Friday evening at the turnoff to Red Willow Dam 14 miles north of McCook on Highway 83.

A report by Nebraska State Patrol Trooper Doug Petty indicates that the collision happened at 7:20 p.m., when a southbound pickup driven by Russell T. Hiatt Jr., 19, of Riverton, and a northbound pickup driven by Marshell G. Sis, 40, of McCook, collided as Sis turned west across the southbound lane onto the Red Willow Dam Road.

The Hiatt pickup struck the right rear side of the Sis pickup and the boat trailer, causing the boat to come off the trailer and come to rest on the west side shoulder of the highway.

Petty's report indicates that the Hiatt vehicle came to rest in the middle of the highway and the Sis pickup came to rest in the southbound lane facing northwest.

Sis's passenger was his 8-year-old daughter, Riley; Hiatt was alone. Everyone was wearing a seat belt.

A witness waiting to turn onto the highway at the dam road and highway intersection observed the accident. An off-duty McCook EMT was at the scene and helped with the drivers, Petty's report indicates. Several motorists helped with traffic control until Petty and officers from the Frontier County Sheriff's Office arrived on the scene.

Hiatt's pickup was totaled. The Sis pickup sustained minor damage, the boat, moderate damage; the right axle of the boat trailer was damaged.