Metal box blamed for rollover

Afsha Bawany

Friday, Aug. 22, 2003 | 11:17 a.m.

A metal box weighing more than 250 pounds dropped off the back of a flatbed tractor-trailer on Interstate 15 Thursday morning, causing a cement truck to roll over near the Blue Diamond Road overpass, the Nevada Highway Patrol said.

In the resulting traffic jam a second rollover sent three people to University Medical Center.

The driver of the truck that lost the metal box, 39-year-old James Ritchie, owns Richie Trucking. He did not stop after his cargo caused the first accident, but Cesar Gutierez of Victorville, Calif., the driver of a dump truck that was hit by the metal box, chased Richie's truck onto Interstate 215 to the Warm Springs Road exit, Nevada Highway Patrol spokeswoman Angie Wolff said.

Troopers cited Richie for leaving the scene of the accident and failure to secure his cargo. He was not injured, nor were Guitierez or Las Vegan Timothy McWhorter, the driver of the cement truck that rolled.

But three other people were injured.

While troopers were sorting out the first rollover, a Mustang slammed into the back of a Dodge pickup that had stopped in the traffic jam. The Mustang rolled over at least four times, Wolff said.

The Mustang's driver, Thomas Richard Pincott, 22, of Mission Viejo, Calif., was not hurt but was cited for failure to slow down, Wolff said.

His passenger, Spencer Gloger, 22, suffered cuts and a possible broken wrist. Both men were wearing seat belts, and that probably saved their lives, Wolff said.

The driver of the pickup, Jose Meza-Fuentes, 52, of Las Vegas, was not hurt, but his wife, Tomasa Meza-Fuentes, 55, had head injuries and was taken to UMC. They also were wearing seat belts.

Wolff said authorities are constantly on the road pulling over truck drivers to make sure the cargo they are transporting is secured.

"The problem is when semi-trucks spill loads on the highway, it creates a critical to deadly situation," Wolff said.