Local news briefs for October 26, 2000

Thursday, Oct. 26, 2000 | 10:43 a.m.

59-year-old motorist dies

A 59-year-old motorist died early today in a three-car accident on Flamingo Road.

Javier Gonzalez-Mena, 18, of Las Vegas was driving his 1981 Datsun station wagon east on Flamingo Road approaching Charlotte Drive about 12:30 a.m. when Robert L. McCann, 46, of Florida apparently hit the rear of Gonzalez-Mena's car,causing it to spin into the westbound lanes of Flamingo Road, Metro Police said.

Gonzalez-Mena's car then struck a 1993 Chevrolet Geo driven by a 59-year-old Las Vegas resident, who died at the scene. McCann continued on to an apartment complex around the corner, apparently not aware of the accident. He noticed the damage to his car, saw the emergency lights and walked back to the scene, police said.

He told an officer he believed he may have been in an accident at the location. The bumper of his car was still on the roadway, police said. McCann was booked into the Clark County jail on felony driving under the influence charges, police said.

The 59-year-old motorist's name was not released this morning by police. Gonzalez-Mena was taken to University Medical Center and was listed in serious condition this morning.

Jail has one-hour lockdown

The Clark County Detention Center went into lockdown for about an hour Wednesday night, after two female inmates reported hearing what they thought were gunshots.

What the two women really heard were rocks hitting the outside of their second-story window on the west side of the jail, police said.

The women reported the sounds at about 7:30 p.m., and Metro Police found two impact marks on the window and rock fragments on the sidewalk below it, department spokesman officer Tirso Dominguez said.

The facility went into lock-down, confining all inmates to their cells and not allowing anyone in or out of the facility, as police investigated. Patrol and SWAT officers responded to the jail along with a Metro helicopter.