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A 25-year-old Omaha man will serve 20 to 60 months in prison after pleading no contest to attempted motor vehicle homicide in connection with a traffic accident that left a Lincoln woman dead.
Tyler T. Truax learned Monday in Saunders County District Court that he must also pay a $350 fine before he is released from prison. Truax will be credited with about 8 ½ months of time served.
Truax entered a no contest plea after prosecutors agreed to amend the charges against him. Initially, he was charged with motor vehicle homicide and driving under the influence.
The charges stemmed from a head-on auto collision on Feb. 15, 2008, in which Andrea Lorenzana, 23, was pronounced dead at the scene.
According to a Nebraska State Patrol report, Lorenzana was the front-seat passenger in a Ford Expedition driven by Truax. The Expedition, headed south on County Road 25 east of Valparaiso, drifted across the gravel road near the crest of a hill and collided with a northbound Chevrolet minivan shortly after 7 a.m.
The force of the crash caused the Expedition to roll, ejecting Lorenzana and the back-seat passenger, Michael Boyd, 29, of Lincoln. Neither was wearing a seat belt.
Boyd was taken to a Lincoln hospital with injuries that were not considered life- threatening.
Truax, who was wearing a seat belt and was not ejected, also was treated at the Lincoln hospital.
The driver of the minivan, Diane Scheffert, 40, of Valparaiso, and two children in her vehicle were taken to the same hospital, where they were treated and released. Everyone in the minivan was wearing a seat belt.
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