Nebraska police officer killed in multi-vehicle crash while conducting traffic stop

CERESCO, Neb. (NTV) — Law enforcement officers across Nebraska are mourning one of their own after a police officer was killed in the line of duty.

The Nebraska State Patrol (NSP) is investigating a fatal crash that killed Ceresco Police Officer Ross Bartlett, 54, while conducting a traffic stop about a mile south of Ceresco on Highway 77 about 7:30 p.m. Friday.

Both vehicles were parked on the shoulder, and the driver and officer were both seated in their vehicles, when a pickup truck rear-ended the police cruiser, pushing it into the stopped car, the State Patrol statement said.

The NSP added that multiple vehicles were involved in the crash that killed Officer Bartlett.

He was life-flighted to Bryan Health West Campus by Star Care where he later died due to his injuries.

The driver of the car, a 27-year-old Lincoln man, suffered serious but non-life-threatening injuries. The pickup driver, a 49-year-old man from the city of Crete, was not seriously hurt.

A procession for Barlett took place Saturday where a line of vehicles stretched for about a mile.

He was escorted by the Lincoln Police Department, Omaha Police Department, Lancaster Sheriff's Office, Ceresco Police Department, Ceresco Fire Department and the Nebraska Department of Correctional Services.

Bartlett had served since 2017 as both an officer with the Ceresco Police Department and as an investigator for the Nebraska Department of Correctional Services, the State Patrol said. He also served with the Ceresco Volunteer Fire Department. He left behind a wife and daughter.

The governor's office said Bartlett started as an officer with the Valentine Police Department and went on to serve with the Boone County Sheriff’s Department, Madison Police Department, Madison County Sheriff’s Department and Newman Grove Police Department.

NSP is conducting a full crash reconstruction investigation that will turn over to the Lancaster County Attorney’s Office once complete.

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Editor's note: The Associated Press contributed to this article.