Sheriff’s officials in Shelby County say a Nebraska man suffered incapacitating injuries early Saturday morning, when the pickup he was driving rolled several times into a field west of Corley. 19-year old Joshua Klassen, of Papillion, NE, was traveling north on Highway 59, when he fell asleep at the wheel of the 2000 Ford Ranger pickup he was driving at around 3-a.m.

When the pickup truck crossed the center line of the road, an oncoming semi-truck driver was forced to take to the shoulder to avoid a head-on collision. When Klassen woke up, he took evasive action, but lost control of the pickup, which skidded sideways on Highway 59 before crossing Shelby County Road F-58 and entering a ditch at the northeast corner of the intersection.

As the pickup rolled multiple times, it hit a Stop, a No Passing-, and street- signs before coming to rest on its wheels. Klassen was extricated from the vehicle by Harlan Fire and Rescue, and transported by ambulance to Myrtue Memorial Hospital, before being flown by helicopter to a hospital in Omaha. Officials say he suffered from rib, and possible internal injuries, along with lacerations to his head.

The pickup was totaled in the crash.