Accidents claim three lives in valley on Friday

Jace Radke

Monday, Sept. 20, 1999 | 11:02 a.m.

Three people were killed Friday in accidents on Las Vegas Valley roadways.

A four-car accident at the busy Tropicana Avenue and Rainbow Boulevard intersection took the life of 82-year-old Betty Weiss of Las Vegas just before 11:30 a.m.

Weiss was traveling west on Tropicana in a 1990 Ford Fiesta and tried to make a left turn onto Rainbow southbound, police said. When she was making the turn she moved into the path of a 1985 Ford LTD heading eastbound on Tropicana.

The LTD, driven by 25-year-old Alexander Magill, and the Fiesta collided, sending both cars careening into two other cars at the intersection, police said. Weiss was taken to University Medical Center where she died shortly after arriving.

Magill suffered minor injuries. It appears a left turn right-of-way violation by Weiss is to blame for the accident, police said.

About 8:45 a.m. Friday a 61-year-old Las Vegas man was killed when a tractor-trailer struck him at the intersection of Tropicana and Wilbur Street.

The 1993 Kenworth truck driven by Erin Elder, 31, was traveling east in the right travel lane of Tropicana, police said.

Witnesses say that Yung H. Hsiung, an unemployed poker dealer, was standing on the sidewalk near the southwest corner of the intersection when he jumped or dove in front of the truck.

Police believe that the man was not hit by the front of the truck, but was run over by the trailer.

In Henderson a 44-year-old man walked in front of a tractor-trailer and was killed just after 5 a.m. Friday.

A 1992 Freightliner truck with a 42-foot trailer was headed east on Boulder Highway north of Gibson Road when the 44-year-old reportedly walked in front of the truck.

The victim died at the scene, and police believe pedestrian error was the probable cause of the accident. The man's name is being withheld until family members can be notified.