Cause of collision that killed two teens may never be determined

Monday, Oct. 18, 1999 | 9:58 a.m.

The exact circumstances of a traffic accident that claimed the lives of two area teenagers Sept. 17 may never be known, Nevada Highway Patrol Lt. Steve Cabrales said.

"The final report says the accident was for unknown reasons," Cabrales said.

Initial reports said the accident may have been caused by the teen driver passing a car on the right shoulder of a two-lane highway near Blue Diamond and that the two teen victims were not wearing seat belts.

The initial report was incorrect about the seat belts, Cabrales said, but he added that he can't prove or disprove one witness's statement that the teen was trying to pass another car on the right.

Joshua Eikens, 17, of Henderson and Lindsay Menendez-Hill, 15, of Las Vegas were killed when Eikens lost control of his vehicle on State Route 159 and collided with a car driven by Joyce Stern, 44, of Latrobe, Pa., investigators said.

Stern and her husband were not injured.

The initial report stated that Eikens was driving south when he passed another car on the shoulder of the road, lost control and traveled into the northbound lane. However, Cabrales said that may or may not be the case.

He said a witness in a car behind Eikens' vehicle told investigators Eikens was passing another car on the right. A second witness at the scene, who saw the collision between Eikens and Stern, did not see Eikens passing a second car.

"The accident could have been because of passing, lack of attention or some other reasons," Cabrales said.