Five die in highway crash

Birusk Tugan

Monday, June 26, 2000 | 11:43 a.m.

Two children and one adult were in critical condition this morning after a head-on collision Sunday on a two-lane section of rural Blue Diamond Road outside Las Vegas that left five dead. Two others injured in the accident were in serious and fair condition today.

Among the dead were a 6-year-old girl, as well as the drivers of both cars and front-seat passengers in both cars.

The girl had a ticket in her pocket for a 1 p.m. showing of the movie "Dinosaur." Police said the family was returning home to Pahrump after seeing the film in Las Vegas.

The Clark County coroner's office identified the dead this morning as Fidel Gonzalez-O'Donovan, 40, of Las Vegas, the driver of one car, Meagan Whitehead, 6, of Pahrump, and Caroline Krecklow, 68, of Pahrump. The names of the other driver, a 35-year-old woman, and a 30-year-old female passenger were not released pending notification of family.

The accident occurred about 3:50 p.m. two miles east of the intersection of State Route 160, also known as Blue Diamond Road, and State Route 159. A white Dodge Spirit driven by Gonzalez-O'Donovan was traveling from Las Vegas to Pahrump. The Spirit crossed the double yellow line and collided head-on with a black GMC Jimmy driven by the 35-year-old Pahrump woman, according to the Nevada Highway Patrol.

Gonzalez-O'Donovan was driving 70 mph, 10 miles above the speed limit, Trooper Alan Davidson said.

Both drivers and Krecklow died immediately, Davidson said.

The 6-year-old girl died at the scene; a 30-year-old passenger in the Spirit died at University Medical Center.

Troopers think that most of the 10 people in both cars were wearing seat belts, a move that might have saved the life of a 1-year-old child in a car seat in the back of the GMC Jimmy. The baby was in serious condition at UMC this morning.

Workers from a private cleanup company picked up tiny pink shoes that belonged to the baby girl, as well as hats and Christmas cards that had been ejected from the white car.

The roof of the car had been shorn off, and debris was spread across the road and surrounding desert. The black GMC Jimmy rolled once.

According to the police, more than 150 cars traveling in both directions waited on Blue Diamond Road until 7 p.m. when the highway was reopened.

Pahrump residents waiting for the road to reopen were not surprised by the deadliest accident of this year on the main thoroughfare between Las Vegas and Pahrump.

Some urged the authorities to start widening what they call the "widowmaker" road to prevent fatal accidents that they say occur almost once a month.

State Route 160 has been widened to four lanes from Pahrump to the Spring Mountains.

Plans are also in place to widen Blue Diamond Road from Las Vegas Boulevard South to Rainbow Boulevard from four to six lanes, but that will not reach the section of road where Sunday's accident occurred.

While waiting for the highway to reopen, Gail McCann, who commutes from Pahrump to her job at a hospital in Las Vegas, said that she wasn't surprised that five people were killed in the accident.

"It is sad but it doesn't surprise me," the respiratory therapist said.

She said that she has seen more than a dozen accidents in the last three years.

"This road needs to be widened like they have done on the Pahrump side."

She said many people drive at 70 mph and get frustrated when they see a slow driver. As a result, they may try to pass unsafely.

"They have no regard for safety," she said.

Davidson said that the widening of Blue Diamond Road from two lanes to four on the other side of Mount Charleston, near Pahrump, has decreased the number of head-on collisions. But pointing to the yellow double line darkened from tire marks, he asked drivers to pay more attention.

"One person makes a mistake and it costs the lives of the whole family," he said.