It's happened again. Someone in the Omaha metro area has died from what authorities believe were the actions of an alcohol-impaired driver.
This time, it's a newlywed. Jessica Bedient, a 26-year-old Omaha resident, died Tuesday evening from head injuries sustained late Saturday when she and her husband, Tony, were struck by a speeding Chevrolet Impala that ran a red light at 144th and Q Streets.
Tony Bedient was critically injured.
Douglas County Attorney Don Kleine confirmed that evidence links the crash to alcohol use by the Impala's underage driver.
Additionally, on Aug. 29, the driver, identified as 18-year-old Aaron Danoff of Omaha, was cited in Sarpy County for speeding and driving with a blood-alcohol content of more than .15.
Bedient's death marks the latest in a string of serious fatal crashes involving alcohol in the Omaha area. Four area residents riding their motorcycles home from Sturgis, S.D., died on Interstate 29 just north of Omaha on Aug. 9. A doctor taking his young son to his first day of school in Sarpy County was killed Aug. 11.
Now, another part of the community must grieve its loss.
Teri Roberts of Lincoln couldn't hold back her tears Tuesday as she talked about the young woman who came to her office five years ago to help organize a fundraiser for people with intellectual disabilities.
Her name was Jessica Lutton, then. She was a University of Nebraska-Lincoln advertising major and a member of the Innocents Society, an elite UNL organization of just 13 students chosen each year for their scholarship, leadership and community service.
“She was a lovely woman, a very elegant young lady, energetic and generous,” recalled Roberts, who is executive director of The ARC of Lincoln and Lancaster County. “I remember thinking ‘your Mom really raised you right.'”
At 11:33 p.m. Saturday, just five weeks after Jessica Lutton married Tony Bedient, police said Danoff collided with the 2010 Toyota Jessica Bedient was driving.
The Bedients' Toyota, in turn, crashed into a 2008 gray Ford pickup truck. The two occupants of the pickup did not require hospitalization. Tony Bedient remains hospitalized at Creighton University Medical Center. He is a golf teacher at Quarry Oaks Golf Course near Ashland and a part-time golf coach at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
Danoff also remained hospitalized at Creighton for his injuries. His family did not respond to calls seeking comment.
Court records indicate that just days before the Saturday crash, Danoff entered a pre-trial diversion program on the August DUI case. But Sarpy County Attorney Lee Polikov said Tuesday that step had not been taken.
He said Danoff had not replied to written correspondence from the county that said he was eligible for the program. That reply would be an indication he wanted to enter the diversion program.
Jessica Bedient, who earned her bachelor's degree in 2006, went to work as a fundraiser for the University of Nebraska Foundation in 2008. After working as a development officer for UNL's College of Business Administration, she was promoted several months ago to be in charge of all fundraising and development for the College of Public Affairs and Community Service and the College of Information Science and Technology at the University of Nebraska at Omaha.
B.J. Reed, dean of the College of Public Affairs and Community Service, said Bedient was impressive.
“She's absolutely terrific,” he said. “From the minute she walked in the door, you could tell there's a lot of energy about her. She's so accommodating, personable and energetic.”
Reed said Bedient already had landed a scholarship gift from one donor who knew little about the program in question until she set an appointment with him.
“That donor wouldn't have come to us if it hadn't been for Jessica,” he said.
Reed added that he's been fielding calls from donors during the past couple of days who ask if the woman hurt in the crash is “the Jessica we're working with.” He explained that she'd been married such a short time, some didn't immediately recognize her married name.
Originally from Ashland, Neb., and a 2002 graduate of Ashland-Greenwood High School, Bedient was working part time on a master's of business administration at UNL.
Tony Bedient, 30, originally from York, Neb., joined the coaching staff at UNL in fall 2009. He has traveled the country as an instructor for ESPN Golf Schools.
The Douglas County Attorney's Office said the investigation into the accident continues and no decision has been made on whether to charge Danoff.
Roberts said Bedient continued to volunteer for her organization on occasion, most recently at the “Dash for Disabilities,” a run held in June.
Reed said it's shocking how life can change in the blink of an eye.
“You think about somebody like Jessica, with all that energy and passion and wonderful spirit,” he said. “For something to happen to her like this, it just takes your breath away.”
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