Latest fatality compounds tragic story of I-80 crash

Any traffic death is a tragedy, but the news from the Interstate 80 crash Sunday seems to get worse.

A sixth victim was declared brain dead Monday, but his body was being kept on life support so that organs could be harvested to keep others alive.

The man, Terry Sullivan, 56, was in a minivan struck by a van carrying a family of five from St. Paul, Minn., which was struck by a semi that failed to slow for a construction zone in Keith County.

The Nebraska State Patrol said the truck driver, Tony Weekly Jr., 53, Baker, was "inattentive and distracted by outside influences" when he rammed into the first minivan "at a high rate of speed."

Weekly is charged with five counts of felony motor vehicle homicide, and the latest death is likely to raise that to six.

Southwest Nebraskans actually have a connection to members of the young family who were killed in the first minivan. Jamison and Kathryne Pals, 29, and their children, Ezra, 3; Violet, almost 2; and 21⁄2-month old Calvin were on their way to Palmer Lake, Colo., for a five-week session to prepare them for Christian missionary work in Japan.

But their dedication and intentions were only the latest indication of their character.

Hundreds of people in McCook, Imperial and other area towns have volunteered to pack millions of meals for the "Feed My Starving Children" organization, which owes much of its success to Jamison Pals.

He worked for three years as a grant writer for the organization, based in Eagan, Minn., which provides specially formulated meals for malnourished children in orphanages, schools, clinics and feeding programs around the world.

An official of the group, Andy Carr, told the Omaha World-Herald that the Pals "were the most humble and selfless people that you could even meet." He estimated that Jamison was responsible for writing grants that brought in more than $1 million, and was quick to help many other small nonprofit organizations to obtain funding.

Southwest Nebraska is connected to the accident, the second worst in Nebraska history, in another tragic way, according to Fred Zwonechek of the Nebraska Office of Highway Safety.

The worst was Aug. 8, 1976, when 11 people died when a church bus was struck by a train near Stratton.

The Pals' life was tragically cut short, but their work will continue through a foundation that will be established in their name, according to Christ Bible Institute in Japan, their missionary organization. Meanwhile, donations are being accepted at www.gofundme.com/joyofjapan

The latest victim's life will continue to count for something as well, thanks to the decision to allow Terry Sullivan's organs to be donated. You can register to be an organ donor here: http://bit.ly/2auxDmZ