Passenger dies when thrown from Jeep

Jace Radke

Monday, June 2, 2003 | 9:54 a.m.

A passenger of a Jeep apparently was killed this morning when he was ejected from the vehicle after allegedly grabbing the wheel during an argument with the driver on U.S. 95 South, the Nevada Highway Patrol said.

Troopers received a call at about 5:17 a.m. about a body along the freeway near Lake Mead Boulevard, Trooper Angie Wolff said.

When they arrived, they found a dead man in the emergency lane and a red Jeep about 100 yards into the nearby desert. Another man was also at the scene.

Metro Homicide detectives were called out, but after questioning the driver of the Jeep, they concluded it was a fatal crash and not a homicide.

Wolff said the driver told investigators that he and the passenger began arguing while driving along U.S. 95 and the passenger grabbed the wheel. The Jeep crashed into the guard rail and the passenger was thrown from the vehicle, she said.

The driver originally said he was the passenger and the dead man was the driver, however, Wolff said.

The driver had not been charged as of 9 a.m. today. Alcohol may have been a factor, Wolff said. The driver has agreed to a blood test.

The names of the driver and the dead man had not been released early today.