News briefs for January 4, 2002

Friday, Jan. 4, 2002 | 9:40 a.m.

Man walks in front of bus

A 31-year-old Las Vegas man was killed this morning when he walked out into traffic on Interstate 15 and was hit by a bus, a Nevada Highway Patrol spokesman said.

The accident happened about 5 a.m. in the southbound travel lanes near the Blue Diamond exit, Trooper Alan Davidson said.

"The tour bus was in the slow lane and attempted to slow down to miss the victim," Davidson said. "The bus moved over, but the pedestrian continued to walk farther out into the lanes and was hit."

Woman, 54, is identified

A 54-year-old woman killed when a sport utility vehicle slid into a bus stop Thursday morning has been identified as Las Vegas resident Candaoeria Javier-Meochor.

Javier-Meochor was waiting at a bus stop at the corner of Eastern Avenue and Warm Springs Road when the driver of a 1996 Chevrolet Blazer lost control of her car on the rain-slicked street and slid into the bus stop, Metro Police said.

Javier-Meochor died at the scene, and a man at the bus stop suffered serious injuries, police said. The driver of the Blazer was not hurt in the accident.

Arizona man killed near Laughlin

The Nevada Highway Patrol is investigating a fatal head-on collision near Laughlin late Wednesday night.

Harold L. Albertson, a 59-year-old Bullhead City, Ariz., man, was killed when his car drifted from the northbound lanes of U.S. 95 and collided with a car heading south about 10:30 p.m., an NHP spokesman said.

The driver of the southbound car suffered only minor injurie, officials said.

Case submitted to DA's office

Metro Police will submit a fatal hit-and-run case to the Clark County district attorney's office to determine if charges will be filed against a 71-year-old man who originally fled the scene of the accident.

Henderson resident Dean Barber turned himself in to police Thursday in connection with a Dec. 28 accident that killed Kathee Burkham, 52, of Las Vegas.

Burkham was crossing Lake Mead Boulevard near Nellis Boulevard outside of a crosswalk when she was hit by a GMC pickup truck headed east on Lake Mead, police said. The cause of the accident appears to be jaywalking, detective William Redfairn said.

Barber has not been charged with any crime, pending a reconstruction of the accident and further investigation, Redfairn said.

Construction will hold up traffic

Motorists can expect delays this month on Interstate 15 southbound and the surrounding streets and ramps between Sahara Avenue and Charleston Boulevard, Nevada Department of Transportation officials said.

Crews will be paving in various southbound lanes of I-15 and the Charleston onramp to southbound I-15 beginning Sunday through Jan. 25. Ramp traffic will be detoured to the Sahara interchange.

Beginning at 9 p.m. on Sunday crews will be shifting traffic to prepare for the paving operation, forcing the closure of the Sahara off ramps until 5 a.m. Monday.

Sahara will be closed Monday and Tuesday evening beginning at 9 p.m. between Rancho Drive and I-15 so that steel girders can be placed. The street will reopen each morning at 5 a.m. Sahara will also be closed for placement of girders from 9 p.m. Jan. 11 to 5 a.m. Jan. 14.

Nevada joins national program

The Social Security Administration has selected Nevada as one of 21 states to take part in a program that will provide career training for the disabled.

Gov. Kenny Guinn said the Ticket to Work program could mean an extra $100 million annually for Nevada's economy through job training for Nevadans with disabilities.

The program is expected to start in the fall, and Guinn said the state Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities was largely responsible for getting the federal agency to choose Nevada.