Three killed in illegal drag racing crash

Monday, Aug. 2, 1999 | 9:04 a.m.

It's the second drag-racing accident that has caused multiple deaths in the Las Vegas Valley in the past year and police say they intend to give increased attention to the illegal contests.

"Drag-racing previously hasn't been a problem for us, but it obviously has become one for us today," North Las Vegas police Lt. Chris Larotonda said after Saturday's crash.

On Aug. 11, a woman and her 10-year-old son died in a drag-racing incident in Henderson.

Saturday's accident that killed three people was on Lake Mead Boulevard in North Las Vegas about one-half mile east of Rancho Drive - the same spot as a 1996 drunken driving accident that killed five North Las Vegans.

A blue car and another vehicle were drag-racing on Lake Mead Boulevard at 4:54 p.m. when the driver of the blue car lost control, Larotonda said.

The car swerved into the eastbound lanes of Lake Mead and struck an oncoming white car head-on, causing it to slam into a brick retaining wall.

Two adults and a toddler in the white vehicle died at the scene.

The blue car's driver and a passenger were rushed by ambulance to University Medical Center where they were reported in critical condition.

The names, genders and ages of the dead and injured were not immediately released. Larotonda said the child who died was about 2 years old, but he did not know the gender of the youth.

The motorist who was drag-racing alongside the blue car fled the scene after the accident, Larotonda said.

Any motorists involved in the drag race could face vehicular homicide charges, he said.

Police routinely patrol the six-lane roadway and issue tickets to speeders, but it is not a popular drag-racing spot, Larotonda said.

"The posted speed limit is 45 miles per hour, and by looking at the two cars it is obvious that there were speeds involved much higher than that," he said.

In April, Paul Auzenne, 36, and Jeffrey Roussin, 32, of Henderson, pleaded guilty to two counts of reckless driving in connection with the 1998 Henderson accident that killed Mary Lou Young, 43, and her son, James.

Police estimated two vehicles driven by Auzenne and Roussin were traveling between 61 mph and 80 mph in a 25 mph zone on Sausalito Drive when Auzenne, driving around a blind curve, lost control of his pickup and slammed into Young's vehicle in an oncoming lane.

Auzenne and Roussin were sentenced to probation a little more than two weeks ago and were also ordered to wear bracelets to remind them of the two victims.