June 5, 2005-Omaha.com
A 19-year-old man was in critical condition Friday night at the Nebraska Medical Center after being struck by a car near 10th and Bancroft Streets. Omaha Police Officer David Bowes said Chad Wheeler was taken to the hospital with head injuries. Witnesses said Wheeler was hit by a 1995 Toyota Camry as he left the Old Bar at 1008 Bancroft St. about 9:40 p.m. They said Wheeler was thrown high in the air and came down about 20 feet away, sliding beneath a parked sport utility vehicle. Friends said Wheeler was running to answer a page from a volunteer fire department. “His pager went off, and he took off out the door,” said bar owner Dottie Krimmel. “He had been sitting here drinking pop and then he took off.” Bowes said Wheeler ran out from behind a parked pickup truck toward his car in a parking lot on the south side of the street. He was struck in the middle of the street by the eastbound Toyota, driven by Mike Hall, 17. Neither speed nor alcohol appeared to be a factor in the accident, Bowes said.