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1 dead, 1 seriously injured in motorcycle crash

An Omaha woman is dead and her husband is injured after a single vehicle motorcycle crash Saturday north of Blair.

Meribeth Juniel, 57, died at Creighton University Medical Center in Omaha after being flown by LifeNet from U.S. Highwasy 75.

Her husband, Rick Juniel, 59, was transported by Blair Rescue to Memorial Community Hospital & Health System in Blair. He was then taken to Creighton. His status is unclear but he was later alert at the hospital and able to provide a deputy with testimony of the accident, Capt. Shawn Thallas of the Washington County Sheriff’s Office said.

According to Thallas, Rick was driving and Maribeth was a passenger on a 1986 Suzuki Cavalcade touring-style motorcycle traveling southbound on U.S. Highway 75, just south of County Road P16, shortly before noon.

“The rear tire locked up on the motorcycle, and it caused it to skid out of control,” Thallas said.

“Witnesses indicated that the bike flipped a couple of times. The helmets were thrown off.” The couple was ejected from the motorcycle.

Neither alcohol nor drugs are suspected in the crash, which is still under investigation. The cause of the crash is likely mechanical failure. Thallas said.

The Blair Police Department also assisted at the scene.

2) Printed in the April 10, 2017 Omaha World Herald, Omaha, Nebraska

Nebraska: Woman killed, husband hurt in motorcycle crash near Blair

An Omaha woman died and her husband was seriously injured Saturday as a result of a motorcycle accident north of Blair.

Maribeth Juniel, 57, died at the Creighton University Medical Center in Omaha after being flown there by medical helicopter, Washington County Sheriff Mike Robinson said Sunday. Rick Juniel, 59, was taken to Memorial Community Hospital and Health System in Blair and then transported to Creighton.

A hospital spokesman said Rick Juniel remained in serious condition Sunday afternoon.

Investigators from the Sheriff’s Office determined that Rick Juniel was riding a Suzuki Cavalcade motorcycle south on U.S. Highway 75 with his wife aboard. The motorcycle went out of control at 11:50 a.m. and ran into a guardrail just south of County Road P16.

Both riders were wearing helmets, Robinson said, The cause of the one-vehicle crash is under investigation—Kevin Cole.

~~~Obituaries courtesy of the Washington County Genealogical Society. Newspaper clippings on file in the Public Library, Blair, Nebraska ~~~