Three killed as semi hits cars on Interstate 15 in California

Monday, Sept. 15, 2003 | 9:32 a.m.

Three people, including a Las Vegas man, were killed in a four-vehicle crash near Baker, Calif., early Saturday that left southbound Interstate 15 closed for nearly 10 hours.

Seven people were injured in the chain-reaction collision, the California Highway Patrol said.

The accident occurred about 3:30 a.m., when an 18-wheel tractor-trailer traveling south on I-15 drifted to the right and sideswiped a guard rail, causing a collision with three other cars, the CHP said.

A 50-mile stretch of the highway between the Nevada border and Baker was closed until Saturday afternoon.

A 1996 Toyota T100 pickup truck driven by Joseph Reghetti, Jr., 36, of Las Vegas was one of the vehicles that collided with the tractor-trailer. He was pronounced dead at the scene, a San Bernardino County coroner's report said.

Two passengers in a 1997 Jeep also struck the truck and were pronounced dead at the scene, the report said. They have been identified as Leroy Kirksey, 29, and Kellen Dixon, 21, both from Moreno Valley, Calif.

The driver of the tractor-trailer, a 42-year-old Arizona man, suffered moderate injuries.

A driver of a sport utility vehicle and his passengers and the driver of another van and a female passenger were taken to nearby hospitals.

Authorities said that alcohol was not a factor in the accident, but an investigation is continuing.