BUSHNELL - Authorities released the names of the people involved in a fatality accident on a snow and ice covered Interstate 80 in Kimball County on Saturday evening. 

Nebraska State Patrol Spokesman Cody Thomas says Samantha Elliott, 36, of North Carolina, was driving a Ford Expedition westbound near mile marker 3 at approximately 5 p.m. when she rear-ended a pickup pulling a car trailer traveling at slower speeds in winter driving conditions. 

Elliott and a passenger, Angelina Elliott, 19, were pronounced deceased at the scene. Another passenger was taken by medical ambulance to Kimball Health Services with non-life-threatening injuries.

The driver of the pickup was not injured. 

The accident closed both lanes of Interstate 80 from Bushnell, Neb. to Pine Bluffs, Wyo. for over five hours. Traffic was diverted to Highway 30 until the I-80 reopened shortly after 10 p.m.

Roads in Kimball County were completely covered in snow and ice at the time of the accident, according to the Nebraska Department of Transportation. There were reports of eight inches of snow in Bushnell and more than 10 inches of snow 18 miles south of Bushnell earlier in the day on Saturday. Meteorologist Patrick McMillan says the City of Kimball received around six inches of snow.

The crash remains under investigation by the state patrol. 

The Kimball County Sheriff’s Office, Bushnell Fire Department, Kimball Fire Department, Kimball EMS, Nebraska Road Department, Nebraska State Patrol, Kimball Police Department, Pine Bluffs Police Department, Wyoming Highway Patrol, and Laramie County Fire District 5 also responded to the scene. 

Troopers handled 4 crashes and 19 motorist assists during the latest winter storm to hit the Nebraska Panhandle.