Garcia – Amanda E., age 18 of Blair. Survived by daughter, Evalin Mae; mother, Emily Gilkerson; sister, Sondra Gilkerson; brother, Ricky Garcia; nephew, Dominick Gilkerson; aunt and uncle, Angie and Dave Kresl; uncles, Jimmy and Phil Garcia; Grandpa and Grandma, Larry and Angela Curtice; Grandma, Mary Ellen Menard, all of Omaha; 8 cousins; Grandpa and Grandma, Rick and Linda Thompson; aunt and uncle Denise and Rob Delrocka; uncles, Greg and Mike Thompson, all of Las Vegas, NV; 7 cousins; many, many loving friends.

Funeral Service 11 am Friday at Trinity Lutheran Church, 6340 N. 30th Street. Private Family Interment. Memorials to the Tommy Kroh, Amanda Garcia, and Evalin Kroh Memorial Fund at TierOne Bank. No Visitation.

Roeder Mortuary, 50th & Ames Ave., 453-5600.

2) The following article was in the Omaha World Herald 3/29/2005.

Car In Rush Before Fatal Crash

Thomas E. Kroh and Amanda Garcia were in a hurry Monday.

But the Blair couple didn’t reach their destination.

Kroh, 24, and Garcia, 18, died in a crash on a two-lane portion of Nebraska Highway 133, just south of Pawnee Road and less than a mile north of Nebraska Highway 36 in Douglas County.

The collision occurred at 7:25 a.m. when their southbound 1994 Buick Regal veered into the path of a northbound Subaru Legacy.

The couple’s 2 month-old daughter, Evalin Kroh, was flown by helicopter to Creighton University Medical Center. The baby suffered a skull fracture, said Lt. Joe Martinec of the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office. She remained in the pediatric intensive care unit Tuesday morning, a hospital spokesperson said.

Kroh was driving on a suspended license, according to court records. Several motorists said the Buick had passed them in a no-passing zone just north of Pawnee Road, Martinec said.

A witness told authorities the Buick had been moving erratically at a high rate of speed before the crash. The posted speed limit there is 55 mph.

Mark Shanno of Omaha said he had just a split second to swerve to avoid a head-on collision with the Buick. Shanno was heading north on a stretch of Highway 133 that is being converted into a four-lane divided highway.

The Buick crossed into Shanno’s lane, sideswiping his Ford Taurus, Shanno said.

“The car was fishtailing and coming right at me”, said Shanno, who was not injured. “I had just enough time to think to steer to the right. Then, I felt the impact”.

After returning to the southbound land, Kroh again lost control of the Buick, skidding sideways into the north bound Subaru with such force that the passenger side of the Buick was pushed into the driver’s side.

Lynn Vrbanac, the driver of the Subaru, had to be freed by rescue workers. She was hospitalized with a broken ankle and back pain. Her condition was unavailable Tuesday.

The baby was in a child seat in the back seat of the Buick. Neither Kroh nor Garcia was wearing a seat belt.

“I rushed over to help the baby,” Shanno said. “She was in her car seat squeezing my finger and had a healthy cry.”

Kroh, Garcia and baby Evalin were living with Kroh’s parents, Thomas and Joanne Kroh, in Lakeland Estates in southern Washington County.

Services for Kroh and Garcia are scheduled for 11 a.m. Friday at Trinity Lutheran Church, 6340 N. 30th St.

World-Herald staff writers Lynn Safranek and Abe Winter contributed to this report

3) Printed in the March 29, 2005 Pilot-Tribune, Blair, Nebraska

Two from Blair die in crash

Infant daughter in critical condition

A Monday morning accident on Nebraska Highway 133 in Douglas County just south of the Washington County line claimed the lives of a Blair couple and left their 2-month-old daughter in critical condition.

Douglas County authorities identified the victims as Thomas Kroh, 24, and Amanda Garcia, 18, of Blair. The infant, Evalin Kroh, was flown to Creighton Medical Center with critical injuries.

The two-vehicle crash happened about 7:30 a.m. on Highway 133 less than a mile north of Highway 36, or about a mile south of the Washington-Douglas county line.

Kroh and Garcia were pronounced dead at the scene of the crash. According to law enforcement reports, Kroh apparently lost control of the Buick Regal he was driving and it veered into the path of the northbound vehicle, which struck it. The driver of the northbound vehicle was hospitalized, but the injuries were not life-threatening.

A portion of Highway 133 was closed for several hours.

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

FindaGrave #132816003