JusticeStanton County crash kills Christina Brandl, injures mother and two daughtersWritten November 6, 2026 at 8:13 AM UTCWatchTranscript0:07A hillcrest collision killed Christina Brandle and injured a mother and her two0:11children.0:12All three survivors needed hospital treatment, and the mother was later transferred0:17to Omaha for further care.0:19Investigators are still working to determine why the vehicles collided nearly0:23head-on.0:23The vehicles collided on five hundred and sixty-third Avenue, near eight twenty-five0:28Road, about seven miles northwest of Lee, Nebraska.0:32The sheriff's office was called Thursday morning, November fifth.0:36The call came at about a quarter to eight.0:39Deputies found a sedan and an SUV that had collided at the crest of a hill.0:45One driver, Christina Brandle of Humphrey, died at the scene.0:49Three people were injured.0:51Kelsey Hake, thirty-five, of rural Lee, and her two daughters, ages seven0:57and thirteen.0:57Brandle's exact age hasn't been confirmed.1:01The sheriff's office says she was driving north in the sedan.1:05Hake was traveling south in the SUV with her daughters.1:08Sheriff Mike Unger said, Both vehicles appeared to have reached the collision1:13without braking.1:14That led investigators to believe the drivers hadn't seen each other before impact.1:19That assessment is preliminary, and investigators haven't determined what caused the1:24collision.1:25Both vehicles were destroyed, and multiple airbags deployed in each.1:30Deputies say the collision happened at the hill crest.1:33They haven't determined which vehicle, if either, crossed into the other's path.1:38The sheriff's office says Hake and both girls weren't wearing seatbelts.1:43Whether Brandle was restrained wasn't known.1:46Investigators haven't identified either vehicle's speed.1:49An ambulance took Haik and both girls to Faith Health in Norfolk.1:54Hake was later transferred to an Omaha hospital for further treatment.1:58Her daughters were treated at Faith Health.2:01Lay and Clarkson Fire and Rescue responded.2:03Along with Stanton County Emergency Management, Norfolk Fire and Rescue also2:09assisted, meeting the responding ambulance service to provide advanced life support2:14care.2:15A life net medical helicopter was summoned, but it didn't land or transport patients2:20from the scene.2:21The road remained closed for about two hours during the emergency response and2:26investigation.2:26This was Stanton County's third fatal crash of twenty twenty-six.2:31The sheriff's investigation remains open.2:34The survivors' latest conditions haven't been released, and an autopsy on Brandle2:39was scheduled in Omaha.Read the articleStory timelineHeyDex
