Car-van collision on Interstate 15 kills seven

Robert Macy

Tuesday, June 29, 1999 | 9:32 a.m.

Excessive speed and inattention are being blamed for a fiery crash on Interstate 15 that killed seven California residents.

Two people from Los Angeles and five from San Marcos were killed when a southbound car fishtailed across the dirt median and into the path of a northbound van on a busy stretch of I-15.

Nevada Highway Patrol Trooper Scott Flabi blamed "excessive speed and inattention on someone's part" for Sunday night's accident.

"The car was southbound at a fairly high rate of speed, according to witnesses, when for unknown reasons the driver took evasive actions to the left," Flabi said. "The car skidded into the dirt median, tried to get back on the highway, then began fishtailing."

The van struck the car broadside, Flabi said, and both vehicles burst into flames.

There were no survivors.

The driver of the car was identifed as Chong Tae Kim, 60, and the passenger as Susan Suk Kim, 51.

Flabi said the five victims in the van were badly burned and would have to be identified through dental records, a process that could take a day or two. The five were believed to be a couple, two teen-agers and a younger child, Flabi said.

The accident occurred about 10 p.m. Sunday, seven miles north of Primm, Nev., a small resort community on the California-Nevada border. The accident scene is about 36 miles southwest of Las Vegas.

The accident shut down northbound I-15 for more than an hour before one lane was reopened.

Earlier Sunday, 12 people were injured when a tour bus carrying 37 passengers overturned south of Baker, Calif. on I-15. The bus was heading to Los Angeles from Las Vegas.