Posted on May 15, 2009

4-Year-Old Girl Dies After Crash

Andrew J. Nelson, Omaha World-Herald, May 13, 2009

{snip}

Josie Bluhm, 4, was in a 2007 Chrysler Town & Country driven by her mother when the crash occurred. Her mother’s minivan was southbound on 180th Street about 7:25 a.m. Tuesday when a 2007 Ford F-150 pickup driven west on West Center Road by Eleazar Rangel-Ochoa, 27, ran a red light and slammed into it, authorities said.

Josie was the most severely hurt of those injured in the crash. She suffered brain hemorrhaging and was eventually declared brain dead. Life support was withdrawn, and she died of her injuries at 5:50 p.m. today, police said.

{snip}

Rangel-Ochoa, whom police arrested after he was treated for his injuries, remained in jail today, accused of driving with a suspended license. He is not in the U.S. legally, according to police; they did not know his country of origin.

Authorities said Rangel-Ochoa’s license had been suspended and revoked numerous times for offenses ranging from failure to complete driver improvement classes to driving under the influence. In 2003 his driver’s license was revoked for 15 years following a conviction for third-offense DUI. He now will face a charge of misdemeanor motor vehicle homicide, Sgt. Doug Klein said in a police press release.