Tourist’s U-turn leads to fatal accident

Monday, Jan. 12, 1998 | 10:45 a.m.

A Pennsylvania couple met disaster early Sunday returning their rental car after an attempted U-turn on a one-way stretch of Paradise Road saw them fatally crash into a taxi, Metro Police said.

Carl John Hoffman, 66, of Warminster, Pa., died shortly after arriving at University Medical Center. Rosemary Hoffman, 58, also of Warminster, was listed at UMC Sunday afternoon in serious condition.

The Hoffmans were southbound along Paradise in the fourth of six travel lanes at 6:59 a.m. when Carl Hoffman U-turned the 1997 Hyundai to the left, crashing into a 1994 Dodge Caravan taxi in the third travel lane, authorities said.

Police believe Hoffman was trying to return the rental car along the east side of Paradise and drove past the driveway entrance seconds before making the U-turn near Gus Guiffre Drive, south of Tropicana Avenue.

Valerie Panagopolos, 42, the taxi driver, suffered moderate injuries and was taken to UMC. Her passengers, Donald Dahle, 41, of Kihei, Hawaii, and David Bluemel, 41, and Patricia Bluemel, 39, both of Hudson, Wis., escaped injury.