Two killed as tractor-trailer bumps car into I-15 tree

Friday, Jan. 16, 2004 | 9:44 a.m.

Two women apparently in their 20s died in a car accident just before 8 p.m. Thursday on Interstate 15. Part of the highway was closed for several hours, police said.

The women were in a red Chevrolet Cavalier heading south in the fast lane near Lake Mead Boulevard when a tractor-trailer bumped the car into the median.

The car spun and crashed into a large tree in the median, Nevada Highway Patrol Trooper Loy Hixson said.

Both women were pronounced dead at the scene.

Hixson said there's a chance a third vehicle cut in front of the double tractor-trailer hauling two loads of sand, causing it to hit the Cavalier. All of the vehicles involved were believed to be traveling at freeway speeds, Hixson said. The speed limit there is 65 mph.

The victims and the truck driver were not identified Thursday night.

The truck driver was not cited for any traffic violations Thursday night, and Hixson said the driver did not appear to be impaired by drugs or alcohol.

The southbound traffic was forced into one lane for about 90 minutes, and the highway was closed while investigators worked and the car was removed. No traffic was allowed on the southbound lanes of the highway between Lake Mead and Washington Avenue.

The accident did not affect northbound highway traffic.