Fatal Car Accident on 563rd Avenue Northwest of Leigh, NE, November 05, 2026

One driver died and a woman and her two daughters were taken to a hospital after a crash on 563rd Avenue in southern Stanton County, Nebraska, on Thursday, November 5, 2026. According to the Stanton County Sheriff’s Office, the two-vehicle collision happened at about 7:44 a.m. The scene was about seven miles northwest of Leigh.

The vehicles met at the top of a hill on the county road. Authorities said a southbound SUV driven by Kelsey Hake, 35, of Leigh, collided nearly head-on with a sedan traveling north. Christina Brandl, 21, of Humphrey, was driving the sedan and was pronounced dead at the scene.

Hake’s two daughters were riding with her in the SUV at the time of the crash. Authorities reported that none of the three occupants was restrained. All three were taken by ambulance to Faith Health in Norfolk.

Hake was later transferred to a hospital in Omaha for additional treatment, while her daughters were treated at Faith Health. The available information did not specify their injuries or their severity, and the children’s names and ages were not released.

Multiple airbags deployed in each vehicle, according to authorities. The sheriff’s office described both the SUV and the sedan as destroyed in the collision.

The Stanton County Sheriff’s Office said its investigation into the collision remained ongoing. A post-mortem examination for Brandl was also scheduled to take place in Omaha. The information released by authorities did not establish why the vehicles collided at the hillcrest.