Local news briefs for March 6, 2000

Monday, March 6, 2000 | 12:01 p.m.

Police look for car in homicide

Metro Police homicide detectives who thought a man was killed after being run over by a compact car say this morning that the man was shot.

Witnesses told detectives that just after 3 a.m. Saturday, a small green car -- possibly a Dodge Neon -- struck a man and drove him into a tree in front of an apartment in the 3000 block of South Nellis Boulevard.

Two men in the car reportedly got out and pulled the victim's body out from under the vehicle, then drove off, detectives said. Police and paramedics found the victim, whom police are still trying to identify, dead in the parking lot. He had several wounds from a small-caliber weapon, police said.

Anyone with information on this crime is asked to call detectives at 229-3521 or Secret Witness at 385-5555. This is the 22nd homicide in Metro's jurisdiction this year.

Cycle accident kills man, hurts woman

A Las Vegas woman remains in critical condition this morning at University Medical Center after being injured in a motorcycle accident that killed the driver Friday night near the Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Kevin Hemphill, 29, was driving the 1996 Honda 600R motorcycle with Melinda Esau, 29, on back about 11:20 p.m. in the desert near the speedway's, under-construction drag strip, Metro Police said.

Hemphill hit the curb of a road beneath the drag strip, throwing him and Esau from the motorcycle, police said. Hemphill died at the scene from his injuries, and Esau was taken to UMC by helicopter.

It was the 15th fatal vehicle accident in Metro's jurisdiction this year.

Moapa woman dies in I-15 accident

A 31-year-old Moapa woman died in a two-vehicle accident on Interstate 15 Sunday morning, the Nevada Highway Patrol said.

The woman heading northbound on I-15 near the U.S. 93 intersection drifted off the roadway about 5:40 a.m., over-corrected and crossed over into the southbound lanes and onto the shoulder. Her car overturned and came to rest on its roof in a southbound lane, police said.

A tractor-trailer driven by Donald Rosbaugh, 70, of Arizona, traveling southbound on I-15 struck the car, police said.

The driver of the car was ejected from her car and died at the scene. Her name was not released until her family could be notified. No charges were filed.

Car fatally strikes Las Vegas man

An 18-year-old Las Vegas man died Saturday after being struck by a car as he was walking on a highway on-ramp on Interstate 15 at Lamb Boulevard.

Adam Wright was walking on the roadway about 12:35 a.m. Saturday when he was struck by a car driven by 22-year-old Michael Watkins of Utah, Nevada Highway Patrol said.

No charges were filed, police said.

Bulls may run in Virginia City

Southern Nevada's American-style running of the bulls is looking for a new home, and the historic mining town of Virginia City is hoping to wind up with the event.

"A lot has to be done before this has a chance of coming together. But it would be an interesting event for us," said Steve Muniz, executive director of the Virginia City Convention and Tourism Authority.

The first two Nevada versions of a 400-year-old tradition in Pamplona, Spain, have been held in Mesquite, 80 miles northeast of Las Vegas.

But Phoenix-area promoter Phil Immordino said problems related to Mesquite's extreme heat, remoteness and lack of a suitable site have led him to look elsewhere.