California driver cited for motor vehicle homicide after crash near Elm Creek

ELM CREEK, Neb. (KSNB) - A California man is dead after he was thrown from a vehicle which crashed Wednesday on Interstate 80 between Overton and Elm Creek. The driver of the vehicle was cited for motor vehicle homicide.

The Nebraska State Patrol said the accident happened in a construction zone on the interstate around 3:30 p.m. A vehicle had stalled in the construction zone. As responders were trying to clear the vehicle, an eastbound Subaru SUV driven by Mary Rasooli, 28, of Sacramento, CA, failed to slow down and struck the back of a semi-trailer, according to NSP. The state patrol said a passenger in the vehicle, Masood Rasooli, 54, of Orangevale, CA, was thrown from the vehicle and died at the scene.

Mary Rasooli was taken to a Lexington hospital with serious injuries. As of Thursday morning, it was not clear if the passenger and driver were related or what that relationship was.

The state patrol cited Mary Rasooli for motor vehicle homicide and careless driving.

The east-bound lanes of I-80 were closed for about four hours during the incident.