Memorial Day car show leaves two dead and 19 injured in Lincoln, Nebraska

Memorial Day weekend ended in tragedy for the residents of Lincoln, Nebraska after at least two people were killed and 19 others were injured on Sunday night after two cars collided and barreled into a crowd gathered for a holiday car show.

According to an initial police report, authorities labeled the 10:46 p.m. incident as a “mass casualty event” and revealed that at least one of those involved in the crash had sustained life-threatening injuries.

“We had people sitting along the sidewalk too when the accident occurred,” Lincoln Police Capt. Max Hubka told CNN.

Later, the Lincoln Journal Star reported that the captain stated that two women – aged 20 and 22 – were killed in the accident. Police further noted that both women were inside one of the cars involved in the crash.

On the night of the accident, a crowd gathered in the parking lot of a local Barnes & Noble to watch the annual Memorial Day “AmeriCruise” night hosted by the Midwest Association of Car Enthusiasts. The famed event attracts drivers from across the region to show off their cars and is typically seen as the official kickoff to summer by many Lincoln residents.

In previous years, hundreds of classic cars, trucks and motorcycles participate have participated in the event.

The cars involved in the crash were not part of the event, however, and occurred after a car T-boned another vehicle driving west near 52nd and O streets in Lincoln.

“Nineteen individuals have been transported to area hospitals, including a number of people who were present on the sidewalk area at the time of the crash,” the Lincoln Police Department said in a social media post. “Again, one has life threatening injuries.”

The department later issued an update soon after. 

“We are confirming two people were killed in the vehicle crash,” the update said. “Both were occupants of one of the vehicles involved. Multiple pedestrians were also injured. One has life threatening injuries.”

This is not the first time that the annual car show ended in tragedy, however.

According to the Lincoln Journal Star, a 39-year-old woman was killed while trying to protect her children after a car jumped the curb and struck her while she was watching the cars pass near 35th and O streets in July 2000.