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A North Platte woman was killed Tuesday when a set of wheels came off a semi on Interstate 80. A Western Engineering semi truck pulling a belly dump truck was eastbound on I-80 in Deuel County at 3:15 p.m. when two wheels came off the trailer of the truck, according to a Nebraska State Patrol press release. The wheels bounded across the median and collided with a Nebraska Department of Roads truck that was parked in the median. The wheels hit the driver side door of the truck. The impact killed Robyn Pittman, 53, of North Platte, who was standing beside the truck. Scott Herdt, 45, also of North Platte, suffered head and back injuries and was initially transported to the Julesburg, Colo. hospital. He was later taken to Regional West Medical Center in Scottsbluff. Both were employees of Western Engineering. The driver of the NDOC truck, Anthony Armer, 42, of Bridgeport, was seated inside the pickup and was not seriously injured. He was treated and released at the hospital. The driver of the semi, Geary Ussery, 30, of North Platte and also a Western Engineering employee, was unaware that the tires had fallen off the trailer and continued to exit 95, where he dumped his load. The press release said when Ussery drove back past the scene of the accident, workers noticed the missing wheels and radioed for him to stop. An NSP inspection of the truck discovered 16 violations, including seven out-of-service violations. The truck was taken out of service and Ussery was cited for the infractions. The out-of-service violations included: brakes out of adjustment, cracked frame members and defective leaf spring assemblies, the release said. The NSP and Deuel County Attorney will review the matter and determine if any formal charges will be filed.
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