LINCOLN–(KFOR/News Release Oct. 15)–A 50-year-old Lincoln man has been arrested in connection to the April 12 deadly crash that killed Ceresco Police Officer Ross Bartlett.

In a release Tuesday morning sent to KFOR News, the Nebraska State Patrol said Tony Pierce was arrested for felony motor vehicle homicide. He turned himself in the State Patrol Tuesday morning, in cooperation with the Lancaster County Attorney’s Office.

The investigation shows that troopers suspected phone use by Pierce was a factor in the crash. Officer Bartlett’s patrol vehicle was hit while conducting a traffic stop south of Ceresco on Highway 77 in northern Lancaster County. The patrol vehicle and a Nissan Altima were parked along the southbound shoulder of Highway 77, with Officer Bartlett in his cruiser and 27-year-old Ke’Vion Hill in the driver’s seat of the Altima. A southbound Ford F-150 pickup hit Bartlett’s patrol vehicle from the rear, which caused it to hit the Nissan, according to NSP.

Officer Bartlett died at a Lincoln hospital, while Hill suffered non-life-threatening injuries. Pierce was not seriously hurt.

Troopers also completed the investigation Officer Bartlett had started with the traffic stop. Ke’vion Hill has been cited for driving under suspension, possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of marijuana – less than one ounce. He was arrested and lodged in Douglas County Jail for an unrelated warrant.

Officer Bartlett had served with Ceresco Police since 2017. He was also an investigator with the Nebraska Department of Correctional Services and served as a volunteer firefighter for Ceresco. Prior to those assignments, he served with the Boone County Sheriff’s Office, Madison County Sheriff’s Office, Madison Police Department, and Newman Grove Police Department.