A Gretna man was arrested in connection with an accident that killed a teenager in Sarpy County Wednesday morning.

Investigators say 17-year-old Joshua Wayland was stopped at a red light around 8 a.m. waiting to turn left onto Highway 50 just north of Highway 370.

As the light turned green he began the turn when his Ford Escort station wagon was hit broadside by a semi driven by 53-year-old Arthur Perina, who was northbound on Highway 50.

Witnesses tell authorities Perina ran a red light.

Wayland was taken to Creighton University Medical Center where he later died. His brother, 16-year-old Jacob Wayland, was a passenger in the car and was also taken to Creighton for treatment of his injuries. He got out of surgery around 3 p.m. Jacob's condition has not been disclosed.

They were on their way to Platteview High School at the time of the collision.

Perina was booked for motor vehicle homicide, a class one misdemeanor, and failure to obey a traffic signal. He posted bail and was released. Until Wednesday, Perina had an accident-free record.

The impact of the crash was felt miles away when news of Joshua's death reached classmates at Platteview High School. "I've been going to school with him since I was in fourth grade," said Miriah Renken.

The sense of loss she feels is the same with most of the students. Seven counselors were on hand Wednesday to help students and staff deal with the loss of Joshua and the injuries to his brother Jacob.

"Students will have a wide variety of emotions in this kind of situation and they have to understand all those emotions are okay regardless of what they are," said Platteview Schools Superintendent Dr. Chuck Chevalier.

Classmates and friends gathered at the spot where Josh and his brother were hit. "I just remember he was always handing out tickets to concerts from his church and he was always a big churchgoer,” said Renken.

Jess Reisinger and her friends held onto each other for strength. "He always had something nice to say for everybody." The girls placed a small bouquet of flowers and a note at the accident site.

"My freshman homecoming, I went to homecoming with him and he was just a really close friend with me,” said Kirsti Alexander, who drove right by the scene of a crash on her way to Platteview High.

The Wayland brothers recently returned to Platteview after attending Omaha Christian Academy from ninth grade thru 11th grade.

Joshua made a huge impact on teachers and students there. Many say his faith in God and his loving personality are what they will definitely miss. "If there's one thing you remember about Josh is that he was always a happy kid, always smiling and just was an encourager,” said Helen Cloyd at Omaha Christian Academy.

Joshua loved to play drums as a member of a teen worship group. "He was a very religious boy," said Reisinger. "God was his main reason and he was an amazing drummer, an amazing artist. He was the nicest kid I ever met."