News briefs for Feb. 27, 2003

Thursday, Feb. 27, 2003 | 9:57 a.m.

Woman killed in two-vehicle crash

A woman died in a crash about 5:40 a.m. today at Sunset and Park roads when the Jeep she was riding hit a light pole, Henderson Police said.

A 1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee driven by Richard Jones, 32, was heading east on Sunset when he cut in front of a 1995 Chevrolet pickup truck driven by Jesus Luna, 50, police said.

The pickup truck clipped the Jeep and the Jeep spun, striking the pole in the median. A female passenger in the Jeep was pronounced dead at University Medical Center, police said. Neither driver was hurt.

A controlled substance might be a factor in the crash, police said. The investigation is ongoing.

Pickup truck crash kills driver

A driver was killed about 6:15 a.m. Wednesday after sustaining severe head trauma in a one-vehicle crash on East Sahara Avenue near Winterwood Boulevard, Metro Police said.

Witnesses told police that the man's 1989 Isuzu pickup truck was heading east on Sahara when the truck veered to the left and crossed the westbound lanes, hitting the north curb.

The truck continued onto the sidewalk and sideswiped a cinderblock wall, then hit a street light pole, police said. It spun counter-clockwise and came to rest on Sahara.

His identity was being withheld pending family notification. The cause appeared to be failure to stay in the travel lane. The crash was still under investigation.

Man, 84, killed in collision

An 84-year-old man was killed about noon Wednesday when a car he was riding in collided with a van at North Boulder Highway and Foster Avenue, Henderson Police said.

A 1988 Honda Accord driven by Dolly Leibelt, 81, was heading north on Boulder Highway and tried to turn left onto Foster Avenue, but her car was hit by a 1995 Ford van driven by Rudy Pimental, 22.

Albert Leibelt of Quincy, Wash., was pronounced dead at the scene, police said. Leibelt and Pimental were taken to University Medical Center with moderate injuries.

Sentencing set in child-sex case

A former Baptist school principal who admitted he took an 11-year-old girl on a cross-country trip to have sex with her is scheduled to be sentenced May 1 in Hammond, Ind.

William A. "Andy" Beith could face up to 15 years in prison and fines up $250,000 if U.S. District Judge Rudy Lozano accepts a plea agreement between Beith and prosecutors.

Beith, 30, of Chesterton, agreed in July to plead guilty to taking a child across state lines for a sexual act.

Beith was the principal at the Liberty Baptist Academy in Lake Station before being fired after his May 2001 disappearance with the girl, who was then a sixth-grader at the school.

The two were found together a week later in Las Vegas in Beith's sport utility vehicle.