Man arrested in fatal crash, charged with drunken driving

Friday, Dec. 17, 1999 | 11:30 a.m.

A Nevada Highway Patrol investigation of a fatal accident that occurred Tuesday has resulted in the arrest of a man on suspicion of felony drunken driving.

Jessie Mathiss, 68, of Sandy Valley, was arrested and troopers have updated their preliminary version of the incident, which indicated that the victim, Lee McDonald, 29, of Las Vegas, had been driving recklessly.

Nevada Highway Patrol spokesman Scott Flabi now says that Mathiss was driving east on Blue Diamond Road about one mile west of Rainbow Boulevard when he pulled to the side of the road. At that point, Flabi said, Mathiss attempted to make a U-turn from the shoulder to the westbound lanes, causing the car behind him, driven by McDonald, to swerve to avoid a collision.

McDonald's car struck a vehicle traveling west driven by Steve Tripp of Sandy Valley. McDonald died at the scene.

Mathiss and Tripp were taken to University Medical Center, where they were treated and released.

Flabi said this morning that the NHP no longer believes that McDonald was driving recklessly and caused the accident.