Blue Hill coping after tragedy
BLUE HILL — Residents in the tight-knit community here were still reeling this morning from news of a school bus collision with a tractor-trailer that killed four people in a rural intersection Wednesday.
The Nebraska State Patrol said those who were killed are: truck driver Travis Witte, 21, of Blue Hill; bus driver Marla Wentworth, 59, of Red Cloud; Dustin Tesdahl, 18, of Blue Hill; and Caroline Thallman, 10, of Blue Hill.
Hank Seeman, 40, of Blue Hill was one of Witte’s two godfathers. Seeman last spoke with Witte Tuesday during a chance meeting at a Blue Hill convenience store.
“I just happened to run into him and we chatted a little bit,” he said. “He had competed at the state fair on Monday in the pickup division of demolition derby. He enjoyed that. I didn’t even realize he was running up there or I would have made an effort to see him.”
News of the tragedy hit the farm community hard, as Witte’s roots run deep there. His grandparents and parents attended Blue Hill schools, as did his uncle, nephews, cousins and other family members still living there.
“In a town this size, everybody knows everybody,” Seeman said. “That’s one thing that helps us. There are a lot of people to help us get through.
“We’re coping. We’ll get through it. It’s just hard to understand.”
BLUE HILL — Residents in the tight-knit community here were still reeling this morning from news of a school bus collision with a tractor-trailer that killed four people in a rural intersection Wednesday.
The Nebraska State Patrol said those who were killed are: truck driver Travis Witte, 21, of Blue Hill; bus driver Marla Wentworth, 59, of Red Cloud; Dustin Tesdahl, 18, of Blue Hill; and Caroline Thallman, 10, of Blue Hill.
Hank Seeman, 40, of Blue Hill was one of Witte’s two godfathers. Seeman last spoke with Witte Tuesday during a chance meeting at a Blue Hill convenience store.
“I just happened to run into him and we chatted a little bit,” he said. “He had competed at the state fair on Monday in the pickup division of demolition derby. He enjoyed that. I didn’t even realize he was running up there or I would have made an effort to see him.”
News of the tragedy hit the farm community hard, as Witte’s roots run deep there. His grandparents and parents attended Blue Hill schools, as did his uncle, nephews, cousins and other family members still living there.
“In a town this size, everybody knows everybody,” Seeman said. “That’s one thing that helps us. There are a lot of people to help us get through.
“We’re coping. We’ll get through it. It’s just hard to understand.”
To read more, see Thursday's Hastings Tribune or the Tribune e-edition.>>>
