California man killed in crash on I-15

Wednesday, Aug. 22, 2001 | 10:29 a.m.

A California man was killed Tuesday night when the car in which he was riding was struck head-on by a sport utility vehicle on Interstate 15 near Sloan, Nevada Highway Patrol officials said.

The 27-year-old man died at the scene, and five other people were taken to hospitals, officials said.

The Highway Patrol said a sport utility vehicle driven by 40-year-old Jerome P. Raftis of Las Vegas apparently was going the wrong way in the northbound lanes and struck a car head-on. A tractor-trailer and another SUV swerved to avoid the accident and collided with each other.

The accident occurred about 9:10 p.m. and shut down the interstate while the injured people were being taken to University Medical Center.

Raftis faces several charges, and investigators suspect alcohol was a factor in the crash, officials said. The name of the man who died was not available this morning pending the notification of his family.

The severity of the other injuries was not available this morning, but most of the injuries were described as non-life threatening. However, a 19-year-old woman sustained more serious injuries in the crash.