Sidney man injured in hit and run incident

A 49-year-old pedestrian sustained severe head injuries Thursday night when he was struck by a pickup truck on 10th Ave. near Newton St. in Sidney.

Donald Deaver was heading east, across 10th Ave. on foot around 8 p.m. on Thursday when he was struck by a gray Ford pickup traveling north on 10th St., according to witness accounts.

The truck slowed in the next block and then continued on, witnesses said.

When police arrived several witnesses were attending to Deaver, a Sidney man who was laying near the curb on the side of 10th Ave. just north of Deaver St. In addition to severe head trauma, Deaver suffered several abrasions from the impact.

Deaver was initially transported to Sidney Regional Medical Center and then airlifted to Scottsbluff for advanced trauma treatment, according to Sidney chief of Police B.J. Wilkinson in a press release issued on Friday afternoon.

Around 15 minutes into the investigation, the man who struck Deaver returned to the scene of the accident and admitted his involvement.

David Kogl, 55 told police he was traveling below the posted speed limit when he struck Deaver. Kogl did not see Deaver as the pedestrian crossed the street. Kogl thought he may have hit something because he heard and felt an impact, but when he looked back he saw nothing to indicate he’d struck something.

When Kogl heard and saw emergency vehicles traveling to the intersection, he returned to the scene.

Police impounded and processed Kogl’s vehicle. Sidney Police are working in conjunction with the Nebraska state patrol accident reconstruction team out of Scottsbluff in this ongoing investigation.