Two killed in head-on collision on U.S. 95

Karen Zekan

Wednesday, Oct. 30, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.

A 52-year-old Los Angeles man driving on the wrong side of U.S. 95 was killed along with his 71-year-old passenger after a head-on collision near Mount Charleston.

A motorist along northbound U.S. 95 notified the Nevada Highway Patrol by cellular phone of a wrong-way Mazda four minutes before Tuesday's accident near Lee Canyon Road, 15 miles outside Las Vegas, said Trooper Steve Harney.

The southbound Mazda rammed into a northbound 1986 Nissan pickup at 6:15 p.m., ejecting the Mazda's driver who was killed on impact, Harney said.

"There were beer cans in and around the vehicle, which leads us to believe that the Mazda's driver may have been drinking," Harney said.

A 71-year-old woman from San Bernardino, Calif., the only passenger in the Mazda, was flown by Flight for Life to University Medical Center and died in surgery. NHP investigators have yet to confirm her relationship to the Mazda's driver.

Authorities have withheld the victims' names until relatives can be notified.

The Nissan's driver, 29-year-old Bruce Kuckenbecker of Las Vegas, was also transported by Flight for Life to UMC. He was admitted to the hospital in serious condition with a broken right leg and numerous bruises, Harney said.

Northbound 95 traffic was stopped from 6:15 to 9 p.m. to clear the wreckage from the road and complete the investigation.