A 25-year-old Wahoo man was killed Wednesday morning when his car collided with a garbage truck near Yutan, one mile south of Highway 92 near Woods Landing.

The man is identified as Michael Shada. The accident happened around 6:45 a.m. about a mile south of Yutan at the intersection of Yutan Road and County Road L. The car was so mangled crews were unable to free Shada for several hours.

“The garbage truck was northbound on the Yutan Road, the passenger vehicle was eastbound on a county road, they collided at the intersection,” said Saunders County Sheriff Kevin Stukenholtz.

Authorities say Shada didn't stop for the stop sign. His vehicle was hit broadside by the garbage truck. The driver of the truck was taken to Creighton University Medical Center, but his injuries were not believed to be life threatening.

Chuck Lacey Jr. went to the same school as Shada and worked with him. ”I drive in from Wahoo every day to work. I seen fire trucks on a highway and didn't hear anything abut it ‘til noon, but I'm still kind of a little bit in shock.”

“He was just a good, personable person, he liked meeting people, he could talk to anybody, he’s just a good heart.”

One distraction on county roads this time of year is the tall corn that often blocks drivers’ vision of an intersection until it’s too late. Authorities say that might have played a role in this crash.

“There is a stop sign for eastbound and westbound traffic, there’s no signals for Yutan Road down here, but fall is a dangerous time with corn growing up on the intersection out here,” said Bob Thorson with the Saunders County Sheriff’s Department.

“This time of year it’s real difficult on county roads with the crops not being fully harvested yet, so that's always a factor," added Sheriff Stukenholtz.