Man, 72, killed and woman hurt in knife attack at Nebraska highway rest area

GRAND ISLAND, Neb. (AP) — An attempted robbery at a highway rest area in eastern Nebraska left a 72-year-old man dead and a 71-year-old woman critically injured in a knife attack Wednesday, authorities said.

The Hall County Sheriff’s office said deputies were called to an Interstate 80 rest area shortly after 7 a.m. Wednesday and found both victims with knife wounds.

The man from Eureka, Missouri, died at a Grand Island hospital. 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 authorities arrived, but Grand Island Police Captain Dean Elliott told television station KSNB that officers were able to get a description.

The Nebraska State Patrol tried to stop a vehicle matching that description near Wood River before that vehicle exited the interstate and turned south. Elliott said the vehicle eventually drove into the Platte River before the suspect was arrested.

It wasn’t immediately clear what charges the 22-year-old man from Elyria, Ohio, will face.

The victims were not immediately identified because authorities are still notifying family members.