Las Vegas news briefs

Tuesday, May 4, 1999 | 12:04 p.m.

Driver killed in five-vehicle accident

Clark Whitehorn, 44, was killed in a five-vehicle accident Monday when he sideswiped a tractor-trailer and ended up driving the wrong way on Tropicana Avenue, police said.

Whitehorn was driving a Mitsubishi west on Tropicana just east of Topaz Street Monday about 10 a.m., police said, when the Mitsubishi sideswiped the truck and veered into the eastbound travel lanes of Tropicana, hitting four more cars before crashing into a light pole.

Whitehorn was taken to Desert Springs Hospital where he died shortly after arrival, Metro Police said.

Police said there were indications at the scene that Whitehorn may have suffered a heart attack just before the accident. The investigation is continuing, police said.

The cause of death will be determined by the Clark County coroner's office. None of the other drivers involved in the accident were injured.

Z-Squared to host Community forum

Z-Squared, the Clark County School District's anti-violence program, is hosting a community forum for parents to discuss school violence.

The forum will begin at 7:45 p.m. Thursday at the Las Vegas Convention Center Ballroom. The event will feature a panel of educators, law enforcement officers, social workers, psychologists and civic leaders.

The forum was organized in response to the shooting at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colo., on April 20. Local students and parents have been concerned about school safety at Las Vegas schools.

Z-Squared stands for Zero Weapons, Zero Tolerance. The program was launched in May 1998 by local chiefs of police and focuses on violence prevention and intervention.

The forum will be broadcast live on KLAS Channel 8. It will be rebroadcast on cable news station Las Vegas 1 at midnight, 7 a.m. and 8 p.m. on Friday and at 10 a.m. Saturday.

School board seeks head-hunting firm

The Clark County School Board today is mailing out 140 applications to head-hunting firms that may be interested in the job of finding a new superintendent for the 203,000-student district.

Superintendent Brian Cram is retiring in July 2000. School Board members plan to hire a search firm that would help them find qualified candidates. They hope to have picked a search firm by the end of July 1999. The search firm would present a list of job candidates to the board by year's end. The search firm's fee has not been established.

The board has appointed a seven-member committee to oversee the superintendent search and the hiring of the head-hunting firm. The committee's next meeting is at 9:30 a.m. Thursday, Clark County Government Center, 500 S. Grand Central Parkway, in the Mesa Room, third floor.

Police looking for car in fatal accident

Marcus Cutler, 51, and his dog were killed Monday night after being struck by a white, midsized automobile that was traveling south on Las Vegas Boulevard North between Lamont Street and Cheyenne Avenue.

Cutler was walking his dog and crossing Las Vegas Boulevard. The vehicle failed to stop and fled the scene, police said.

Anyone with information is urged to call the police accident investigations office at 229-3535, or Secret Witness at 385-5555.