Hit-and-run accident preceded fatal crash

Jace Radke

Wednesday, Oct. 14, 1998 | 11:20 a.m.

A hit-and-run accident may have been the prelude to a fatal head-on collision Tuesday night at Rainbow Boulevard and Torino Avenue, just north of Blue Diamond Road.

About 8:30 p.m. a Chevrolet Beretta traveling northbound in the southbound lane of Rainbow Boulevard collided head-on with a minivan traveling southbound, Metro Police Sgt. Curt Albert said.

"The Beretta did not have its lights on, and both cars swerved to miss each other when they collided," Albert said.

The man driving the Beretta died at the scene, while the driver of the van, an adult woman, and the 14-year-old in the passenger seat were taken to University Medical Center for minor injuries. There were also three other children in the minivan, but none were injured, Albert said.

All the occupants in the van were wearing seat belts.

Police believe that the driver of the Beretta may have been fleeing the scene of a hit-and-run on Blue Diamond Road, about a quarter-mile west of Rainbow Boulevard, Albert said.

In that accident a Nissan 240 SX was traveling eastbound on Blue Diamond Road when it was rear-ended by another vehicle, causing the Nissan to slide across the road, roll and come to a stop upside-down on the south shoulder. The driver of the Nissan was taken to UMC with minor injuries.

The two accidents were within minutes of each other, according to Nevada Highway Patrol Trooper Michael Nihei.

Albert stressed that the connection had not yet been confirmed and that crime lab officers would have to match paint from the back of the Nissan with that of the Beretta to confirm their suspicions.

The Nissan, which was green, did appear to have white paint on its crumpled rear end, and the Baretta was white, police said.

"We think if the Beretta was involved in the hit-and-run, he either knocked his lights out from the contact or had them off because he was fleeing the scene," Albert said.

Ryan Johnson, a 17-year-old student at Durango High School who lives close to where the accidents occurred, said he was not surprised to see the wreck.

"We see this out here all the time," Johnson said. "Cars are always wrecking or rolling over out here because people take it for granted that they are still kind of out in the boonies.

"It's a narrow road that curves a lot, and there are no lights. There is an accident at the Blue Diamond and Rainbow intersection almost every day."

Johnson said that he and many of his neighbors would like to see a traffic light at the Blue Diamond and Rainbow intersection.

Albert said he believes that this was the second fatal accident near the Blue Diamond and Rainbow intersection this year.

"This road (Rainbow near Blue Diamond) is traditionally bad," Albert said. "It's narrow and the pavement is rough. It also dips and there are some whoop-de-doos that can be a problem for those unfamiliar with the road."