The Buffalo County Sheriff’s Office says a Chadron man was killed shortly before 5:00 Friday morning in a 2-vehicle head-on crash on Hwy 2 about 4 miles east of Ravenna or 35 miles northeast of Kearney.

52-year old Curtis Deines was a passenger in one of the two vehicles and was pronounced dead at the scene. The other 4 people in the vehicle with him were taken to a Kearney hospital, one by air ambulance.

The Sheriff’s Office says Deines was in an eastbound SUV driven by 35-year old Jessica Ehlers of Grand Island when it collided with a pickup driven by 25-year old Sergio Tinajero, also of Grand Island. Tinajero was alone and was not hurt.

A portion of Hwy 2 near the accident scene was closed for about 5 hours. The Buffalo County Attorney’s Office has ordered an autopsy to determine the exact cause of death as part of the continuing investigation.

Family friends say Deines, a railroad conductor working out of Alliance, and the other 3 passengers in the SUV were railroad crew members who’d completed a run.

A native of Torrington, Deines came to Chadron in 1987 to play college football and never left. He was a rare 4-year starter at center, with coaches saying he never missed a practice or game. Deines was inducted into the CSC Athletic Hall of Fame in 2012.

His son, Colin Deines, is one of the newest members of the Chadron Police Department, hired last December 14th and sworn-in last month.