RX drug ruled out as cause of fatal U.S. 95 crash

Karen Zekan

Wednesday, Oct. 7, 1998 | 11:32 a.m.

Toxicology test results show that an over-the-counter diet aid a 21-year-old Reno woman had in her system wasn't enough to cause the head-on collision in which she and three others died, the Nevada Highway Patrol said.

Lab analysis uncovered an amount of the drug phentermin in Jamie Ericsson's blood work which was "within accepted dosage amounts," NHP Trooper Scott Flabi said.

"What that means is that it rules out any controlled substances being a factor in the accident," he explained. "Nothing else was found."

Tying up investigators, however, is an explanation for why the woman drove head-on into a 1997 Chevrolet van carrying six relatives home from family reunion.

Investigators determined that Ericsson was northbound Sept. 30 in U.S. 95's single southbound lane, about 90 miles northeast of Las Vegas, when the 3:40 p.m. crash occurred.

Killed in the collision were James Richard Phipps, 64, of Gilbert, Ariz.; Geraldine Phipps, age and hometown not available; and Bettie Phipps Craig, 63, of Sunray, Texas.

Ericsson's Isuzu, however, left no skid marks or evidence that she attempted to avoid the collision, unlike the van's driver who appeared to have tried to steer away.

Authorities are still trying to ferret out the possibility that Ericsson may have been suicidal when she crashed, based on a diary found in her car that details what the NHP described as a terribly depressing life.

Ericsson, a prostitute known to have worked at several brothels in Northern Nevada including the Mustang Ranch and the Old Bridge Ranch, also had with her a map marked with a route to Pahrump where she interviewed for a job at the Chicken Ranch, Flabi said. She was on her way back home to Reno when she died.

The NHP has not found any relatives, friends or business contacts in Northern Nevada who can confirm if Ericsson had any suicidal tendencies.

"If we can't find anyone who can prove that she was talking about killing herself, then the cause of the accident will most likely end up as fatigue, inattention or falling asleep," Flabi said.

Robert Norris, one of the van's passengers who survived the crash, has recently told investigators that he thought Ericsson might have been trying to pass a truck. The statement, however, conflicts with the recollection of another motorist who was within a mile of crash and remembered seeing only the two colliding cars on the highway.