Three die in three wrecks

Friday, Sept. 17, 1999 | 9:40 a.m.

It's been a deadly 24 hours on western Nevada highways, with three men killed in three separate accidents.

A fiery four-vehicle wreck near Spooner Summit killed the truck driver and injured four others. It shut down U.S. 50 for five hours, backing up evening rush hour traffic in Carson City.

In Stead, a bicyclist was killed when he was hit by a truck at Military Road and Lear Boulevard Thursday evening. Nevada Highway Patrol troopers are investigating because the truck's driver is the daughter of a Reno police officer.

Near the Ponderosa Ranch on Highway 28, an Incline Village man died after he apparently drove across the center line and into a tree. Russell Taylor, 78, was headed north near the ranch when the accident occurred. He died Thursday evening at Washoe Medical Center in Reno.

In the Highway 50 wreck, Nevada Highway Patrol Sgt. Al Alessandra said a tractor-trailer rig carrying a load of grapes was headed downhill into Carson City when the driver lost control of his vehicle.

The tractor hit the concrete median barrier sending the trailer skidding around and over the barrier into the westbound lanes, where the tractor burst into flames.

The trailer struck two motorcycles and one other vehicle, pinning the occupants.

With Highway 50 closed both at Spooner Summit and its intersection with U.S. 395 south of Carson City, homebound motorists faced sizable detours.