Services were held Thursday for Brayden Hulquist, 18 of North Platte, who was killed in a collision on Oct. 31.

Hulquist died around 7 p.m. Halloween evening on U.S. Highway 83, a few miles north of town.

According to the Nebraska State Patrol, the crash occurred as the teenager and another person were trying to push a stalled Ford pickup out of the northbound lane of the highway, about a half mile north of the NE Highway 97 junction.

As they were moving the vehicle, a northbound Jeep Wagoneer hit the pickup from behind. The impact pushed the pickup off the road. The Jeep rolled into a ditch.

Hulquist was killed. The other person pushing the pickup suffered minor injuries and was treated at the scene.

The Jeep driver, Kendi McClain, 49, also from North Platte, was taken to Great Plains Health with minor injuries. She was treated and released later.

Thomas said Wednesday that the accident is still under investigation.

Burial was at Floral Lawns Memorial Gardens.

Hulquist was born on Aug. 11, 2007 in North Platte to Brian and Eileen (Bourn) Hulquist. He attended North Platte High School until his sophomore year and graduated from Penn Foster, a well-established online high school, in November 2024.

Hulquist studied welding at North Platte Community College. He worked for the Don and Linda Licking ranch for several years. He also worked at the ethanol plant in Sutherland, his obituary said.

His family said Brayden was a bull rider and loved horses. He enjoyed hunting and fishing. He will be remembered as a great friend with a big heart and was always willing to help. He could be goofy and fun loving, always raising people’s mood with a joke or his expressions.

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