Henderson residents, family of 4 killed as pipes crash into cars

Tuesday, Aug. 3, 1999 | 10:04 a.m.

LAS VEGAS SUN STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS

BORON, Calif. -- Two Southern Nevada residents and a family of four were killed when three massive concrete pipes flew off the back of a flatbed truck and smashed into two oncoming vehicles on a remote stretch of highway.

Trucker Richard Sommerville, 59, of Riverside was booked for investigation of drunken driving shortly after the 12:55 a.m. Monday accident on State Route 58, California Highway Patrol Officer Todd Weichers said. Sommerville wasn't injured.

A 38-year-old man and a 51-year-old woman, both of Henderson, were killed when the pipes smashed into their 1998 Chevrolet Monte Carlo. A spokesman for the San Bernardino County coroner's office said their names would not be released until at least this afternoon.

Randy Ledford, 32; his wife Melissa, 25; their son Lonny, 9; and daughter Skyler, 6 were also killed when the 7 1/2-ton rolling pipes slammed into their 1994 Nissan Quest minivan. The Redlands family was returning home from a trip in Livingston.

Neighbors said the children had been visiting their grandfather for a week. Their parents drove up Friday to bring them home.

"They both lived for their kids," Matt Fashempour said. Ledford was a plumber and his wife was a homemaker who made crafts for local fairs.

Sommerville was driving for Tracy-based First Class Service on a run from Northwest Pipe Co. in Adelanto to Dixon near Sacramento, company vice president Jim Alves said.

"It's absolutely horrible," Alves said. "Our hearts go out to their families."

He had worked for the company for a year and had 20 years of professional driving experience, Alves said.

Sommerville was traveling west at an unknown speed, the CHP said. Investigators said when he made a gentle, sweeping turn to the right, his load of pipes shifted -- snapping their nylon restraining straps. The pipes, weighing 15,000 pounds each, fell off the flatbed and crashed into the two eastbound vehicles on the undivided two-lane highway. The pipes were 30 feet long and 3 feet wide.

"The pipes fell off the trailer and became airborne," Weichers said. All six occupants were killed "in a heartbeat," Weichers said.

Both vehicles were demolished and the sedan burst into flames. Luggage was scattered across a section of the Mojave Desert highway after the accident.

A portion of the highway at Amargo Road, between Barstow and Mojave, was closed for a day for an investigation. Both sides of the roadway were opened up about 2 a.m. this morning, according to a CHP dispatcher in Barstow.