Teen dies as car hits power pole

Monday, April 26, 2004 | 9:28 a.m.

One young driver was killed and another was left in critical condition when they crashed their cars Saturday, Metro Police said.

A Las Vegas teen died after his speeding Chevrolet Camaro struck a wooden power pole at Carey Avenue and Christy Lane at about 1:45 a.m., police said.

The car hit the pole so hard that the engine compartment separated from the rest of the car, the pole was knocked down and the 16-year-old driver, Johnny Jones Jr., was ejected from his car, police said. He was taken to University Medical Center and was pronounced dead shortly after arriving, police said.

In another crash, a 20-year-old Indian Springs resident was in critical condition after being ejected from a car that rolled several times off Cold Creek Road near Indian Springs shortly after 9 p.m., police said.

And early Saturday, three people were hurt in a crash at Bonanza Road and Lamb Boulevard when a 1997 Pontiac going southbound on Lamb failed to stop at a red light, police said. The Pontiac crashed into a 1989 Cadillac. The Cadillac's driver, Manuel Maldonado, 21, was not injured, but a passenger, Pedro Rodriquez, 19, of Las Vegas, is in serious condition.

The passenger and the driver of the Pontiac, who have not been identified, were taken to UMC in critical condition.