The driver of a snowplow plunged the vehicle into the Platte River on Tuesday as he was being followed by authorities who later arrested him. U.S. marshals and Sarpy County sheriff's deputies believed the driver of the Nebraska Department of Transportation snowplow was a wanted federal fugitive and began following the plow on a highway south of Gretna. After a few minutes, the Lincoln Journal Star reports the the plow left the road and landed in the river. The driver managed to get out of the cab and officers pulled him to safety. The driver's name wasn't released but the Transportation Department says he was employed by the agency. He was treated and then taken to jail. Charges against him remain sealed.
UPDATE: The driver has been identified as Scott Robertson. KETV reports that the fifty-seven-year-old Robertson may have had contact with children in the Omaha area while working as a Shriner's clown. Robertson pleaded not guilty in federal court yesterday to child pornography possession charges.