Tuesday, April 23, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.
A one-legged Las Vegas man was killed as he crawled into traffic on East Charleston Boulevard.
The 40-year-old man was riding in his girlfriend's car westbound on East Charleston near Sacramento Drive about 9:30 p.m. Monday. They had been arguing, so she pulled the car into a parking lot to cool down, police said.
"From what we understand, they were arguing because the man had been drinking," Metro Police Sgt. Frank Weigand said.
The man flung open the door and crawled into the westbound traffic lanes, witnesses told police. He had left his wheelchair in the trunk of the car and crawled into the traffic lanes, Detective Steve Winne said.
"He was angry and possibly intoxicated," Winne said. "He managed to scoot across the westbound traffic lanes and onto the median, but he didn't make it across the eastbound."
The woman pulled her car into the westbound lanes and switched on her emergency lights to warn motorists, but she could not prevent the driver of a white Oldsmobile from running over the man when he crossed into eastbound traffic, Weigand said.
The motorist, Joseph Monte, 73, of Las Vegas, was not cited.
The victim's identity was not released pending notification of his family.
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