COLUMBUS, Neb. -- A 27-year-old man Columbus man is in critical condition after a collision involving a moped and a semi Monday evening.

Deputies with the Platte County Sheriff's Office were called to Highway 30 and E. 18th Avenue, just east of Columbus, for the accident at approximately 8:15 p.m. 

Sheriff Ed Wemhoff said a 2000 Peterbilt semi pulling an empty livestock trailer had been traveling westbound on Highway 30, when the semi struck a pedestrian operating a moped on the highway. At that location, Highway 30 is a four-lane divided highway. 

According to Wemhoff, the investigation was able to determine that the operator of the moped had been traveling westbound in the middle of the inside, westbound lanes of travel.

The driver of the Peterbilt, Andy Bredthauer, 57, of Ord, was not injured in the collision. The operator of the moped, Michael Veenendaal, 27, of Columbus, was transported by Columbus Rescue to the Columbus Community Hospital. Veenendaal was transferred to Bryan West in Lincoln by a medical helicopter, where he remains in critical condition.

Members of the Nebraska State Patrol assisted in the investigation of this accident.  The Columbus Police Department and the Nebraska Department of Transportation assisted with traffic control.

The accident remains under investigation by the Platte County Sheriff’s Office.