Motorcyclist killed when vehicle U-turns in his path

Karen Zekan

Tuesday, May 14, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.

HENDERSON -- A 40-year-old motorcyclist was killed in a Green Valley intersection when the driver of a Chevrolet Blazer pulled a U-turn in front of him and knocked the rider to his death, police said.

Gene Michael Smith of Henderson died at the scene of Monday's 5 p.m. collision.

Smith was thrown a few feet from his white 1994 Harley Davidson motorcycle in the eastbound lanes of Sunset Road at Valle Verde Drive.

A preliminary investigation has determined that the motorcyclist was traveling with the flow of eastbound traffic on Sunset with a green light when he passed through the intersection and was hit, Henderson Police Lt. Ray Moser said.

Fluids from the classic bike pooled after the accident near Smith's body, which landed in front of the crushed right front end of Jonathan Crist's dark gray 1988 Blazer. A UNLV parking tag hung from the Blazer's rear-view mirror.

The motorcyclist was unable to stop or avoid the Blazer and died instantly of massive internal injuries, authorities said.

Passers-by gathered in the shade of trees outside a nearby market to watch traffic investigators, who took measurements in the roadway amid shattered glass and scattered motorcycle parts.

"The motorcyclist had the right of way and it was the other driver's duty to yield," Moser said. "I don't know what that driver was thinking about, but it wasn't his driving. Everyone makes mistakes. Unfortunately this mistake cost another man his life."

Charges are pending against Crist, 21, who was not injured in the accident, and will be based on a completed report of the accident, which remains under investigation.

Police have interviewed several witnesses but request that anyone who saw what happened and hasn't spoken to authorities call Henderson Police at 565-2009.