Colorado Man Dies in Las Vegas Auto Accident
Freeway interchanges in Las Vegas can sometimes be dangerous. That’s because a vehicle exiting a freeway is usually traveling at a high rate of speed – and sometimes, collisions can occur.
That was the scenario in a fatal auto accident this weekend in central Las Vegas near Western High School. About 6:30am Sunday morning, a Pontiac Sunfire was heading westbound on U.S. 95 (Veterans Memorial Highway) and tried to exit at the Decatur Road offramp. But at the Decatur intersection, a Chevrolet Tahoe traveling north struck the driver’s side of the Sunfire. The 24-year old man from Cortez, Colorado who was driving the Sunfire was pronounced dead at the scene, while his passenger was rushed to a nearby hospital with critical injuries. The Tahoe driver suffered what are being called "mild to moderate injuries."
Metro Police are saying that alcohol may have played a role in the deadly motor vehicle collision, though they aren’t saying which driver might have been impaired. And from the information given in the news story, there’s no way to determine which driver was responsible for the crash.
The intersection is regulated by a traffic signal. If the Tahoe ran a red light, then its driver would be held liable for the death of the Colorado man and the injuries to the other occupant. But if the Sunfire either ran a red light or tried to turn right on red without checking to see if traffic was clear, then the Colorado man would be at fault – and both his passenger and the Tahoe driver could file personal injury lawsuits against his estate.