The tragic story of a crash that took the lives of a mother and her young son in Nebraska has taken another step forward in court. Justin Zoerb, a man from Litchfield, is facing serious charges connected to the accident and has now had his case moved to the Clay County District Court.
On Tuesday, Zoerb decided to waive his preliminary hearing, which means he chose not to have an early review of the evidence in county court. This moved the case to the district court, where he faces two felony charges for motor vehicle homicide. A separate reckless driving charge, which was a misdemeanor, has been dropped by the prosecutor.
This case stems from a devastating crash on August 9, 2023, near the Clay and Fillmore County line. Authorities say Zoerb was driving a semi-truck westbound on Highway 6. Traffic had stopped on the highway because a vehicle was waiting to turn onto Road A. Zoerb’s semi failed to slow down, veered into the eastbound lanes, and lost control, crashing into a Buick Enclave. Inside the Buick were 30-year-old Nicole Pavelka from Davenport, her 8-year-old son Ryker Schlichtman, and three other children. The crash killed Nicole and Ryker, leaving the other children injured.
The investigation into the crash was lengthy and involved the Nebraska State Patrol and the Clay County Sheriff’s Office. Zoerb wasn’t immediately charged after the crash but was arrested in December 2023, over a year later. Authorities say they found new evidence after searching his phone, which was taken when he was arrested on an unrelated warrant at the time of the crash. Investigators discovered that Zoerb had been exchanging Snapchat messages with someone just moments before the collision.
Now, as the case moves to district court, no date has been set for Zoerb’s arraignment, where he’ll formally hear the charges against him and have a chance to enter a plea. This tragic event continues to weigh heavily on the families affected, as they await justice in the coming proceedings.
