Teen critical after collision with cement truck

Karen Zekan

Thursday, June 11, 1998 | 11:39 a.m.

A 17-year-old boy was in critical condition this morning after driving head-on into a cement truck, Metro Police said.

The young driver was eastbound on Tropicana Avenue, traveling at what witnesses described as a high rate of speed, when he crossed the double yellow lines near the Wynn Road intersection at 5:57 a.m. and hit the front end of the eastbound truck, said Sgt. Curt Albert.

The teen, whose name was not released, is believed to have been driving in excess of the posted 35 mph speed limit when the accident happened. Albert said the truck was traveling 10 mph at most, having been stopped seconds earlier for a red light and proceeding when the light turned green.

The damage to the boy's small two-door car was so extensive that it took firefighters almost 45 minutes to extricate him from the crushed wreckage, Albert said. The cement truck's damage was limited to a left front wheel, pushed back from the impact. Its driver escaped injury.

Investigators said the boy was wearing his seatbelt. He was considered to be in grave condition when rushed to University Medical Center's trauma ward.