BEATRICE - A Gage County Sheriff's officer ticketed a motorist Monday, for driving around barricades and getting stuck in water, along West Hickory Road.

An investigator responding to the scene found a 36-year-old Joshua Birmingham of Beatrice, sitting in a Ford Focus on West Hickory Road. The road had been closed for several days because of flooding on the Big Blue River.

Authorities say Birmingham had driven past road closed signs east on Hickory Road, passing clumps of muddy debris and large logs, until his car stalled.

The investigator was able to drive his patrol unit up to the car, which was stalled in about six inches of water. The driver was then transported by the Investigator's vehicle to a dry area near the Koch Nitrogen Plant.

The driver was ticketed for disobeying a traffic control device and driving with an expired license. A tow truck was summoned to the scene to remove the car from the water.