Five juveniles cleaning up highway killed when van swerves

Robert Macy

Monday, March 20, 2000 | 9:08 a.m.

A speeding van raced off Interstate 15 and slammed into a group of youths working in a clean-up crew along the busy highway, killing five and critically injuring a sixth.

The six were among a group of 45 juvenile offenders, ages 14 through 17, who had been sentenced to pick up trash for the Clark County Youth Services Department.

The victims were hit Sunday afternoon by a white Ford minivan driving northbound when it ran off the highway near the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, just north of the downtown area, said Nevada Highway Patrol Sgt. Steve Cabrales.

"They had no warning at all. The van came off (the road) unexpectedly and just wiped them out," said Kirby Burgess, director of the county youth program.

The victim's names and ages were not released.

The 20-year-old driver was transported to University Medical Center for minor injuries, then she was taken into custody and jailed for investigation of driving under the influence involving controlled substances and felony reckless driving.

The driver, identified by the Clark County Detention Center as 20-year-old Jessica Williams, also was cited for investigation of drug possession and drug paraphernalia possession.

NHP Trooper Shane David, the lead investigator, estimated the van was traveling 75 miles per hour, the legal speed limit, when it hit the median. He said there was no evidence the van braked before hitting the kids. David said Williams carried a driver's license with a Poway, Calif. address but she said she was from Littlefield, Ariz, where the vehicle was registered.

There were two clean-up crews working at the time of the 1:40 p.m. accident, one on the right side of the highway and one on the center divider.

"They were picking up trash and cleaning up the area," Cabrales said. "They were all in one area and she just drove right through them."

Cabrales said it appeared the driver was under the influence of alcohol or a controlled substance.

"We don't know whether she fell asleep or just what happened," he said.

A woman passenger in the van was taken to University Medical Center with minor injuries. The sixth, critically injured youth also was taken to that hospital.

Cabrales said two 15-passenger vans that had brought the juveniles to the work area where at the scene, and one was on the right shoulder with its emergency flashers on at the time of the accident. He said officials had not obtained a statement from the driver about what happened.

The speed limit in the area is 75 mph, but Cabrales said he did not know how fast the woman was going.

The youth program was started in 1989 as a way for young misdemeanor offenders to work off their fines, according to Burgess.

The accident created a massive traffic jam, and part of highway was closed for several hours.

Sunday's accident occurred 11 days after another I-15 crash that killed eight and injured five. That accident occurred near Jean 30 miles south of Las Vegas. NHP Trooper Michael Cooke said the driver fell asleep in the March 6 accident.

Seven of those killed were ejected from a van after the driver veered off the left side of I-15, then overcorrected, the NHP said. The northbound van then hit a guardrail and careened into a steep gravel median, flipping several times.