Man and woman from Eureka attacked at rest stop in Nebraska

GRAND ISLAND, Nebraska — An attempted robbery at a highway rest area in eastern Nebraska left a 72-year-old man dead and a 71-year-old woman seriously injured in a stabbing attack Wednesday, authorities said.

The Hall County Sheriff’s Office said officers were called to a rest area on Interstate 80 shortly after 7 a.m. Wednesday morning and found both victims stabbed.

The man, from Eureka, Missouri, died at a hospital in Grand Island. The woman is in critical condition at the hospital with life-threatening injuries, authorities said. She is also from Eureka.

The suspect fled the rest area in a vehicle before police arrived, but Grand Island Police Captain Dean Elliott told KSNB that officers received a description of the suspect.

The Nebraska State Patrol attempted to stop a vehicle of that description near Wood River before it exited the interstate and turned south. Elliott said the vehicle eventually entered the Platte River before the suspect was arrested.

It was initially unclear what charges would be brought against the 22-year-old man from Elyria, Ohio.

The victims could not be identified immediately as authorities are still trying to notify their families.