Preliminary hearing scheduled for Lincoln man facing charges in death of Sidney native

LINCOLN, NE — A Lincoln man is facing a felony charge after a crash in Lincoln that killed a Sidney native in July.

Court records show that 29-year-old Patrick Tvrdy made his second court appearance in Lancaster County Court last week. In early December, authorities charged Tvrdy with motor vehicle homicide-DUI, a Class 2A felony. 

According to the affidavit, Tvrdy was involved in an accident the night of July 30, that killed Sidney native Brady Sweester. Police say Tvrdy was eastbound on Highway 2 in Lincoln and stopped at an intersection to turn left. Sweester was headed westbound on Highway 2 at the time. Investigators say Tvrdy turned into the intersection in front of Sweester, who was riding a motorcycle, and the two collided. Sweester was pronounced dead at the scene. 

Authorities say they could smell marijuana odor on Tvrdy during their initial investigation. According to the affidavit, investigators also found marijuana leaves in Tvrdy's car. He submitted to a drug test, which showed Tvrdy was impaired at the time, according to police. 

In the affidavit, police say they believe Tvrdy's impairment "caused cognitive deficiencies that led to his failure to yield right of way to the westbound motorcycle, resulting in the death of Sweester."

Tvrdy turned himself in in early Decemeber. At last week's court hearing, authorities scheduled his preliminary hearing for January 26.