Crashes kill eight over the weekend

Monday, June 21, 2004 | 11:19 a.m.

Eight people were killed and at least 10 others were injured since Friday in a rash of traffic collisions in Southern Nevada.

A family of five died Friday night on Interstate 15 near Primm after their Pontiac Grand Am was hit by two vehicles, the Nevada Highway Patrol said.

Troopers believe the van was initially struck by a tractor-trailer, which spun it around, putting it in the middle travel lane. The truck driver did not stop and troopers are looking for that driver.

The van was hit again by a car, troopers said. The driver of the sedan was hospitalized with critical injuries. The occupants of the van, a man, woman and three children, ages 8, 10 and 13, died. Their names had not been released this morning.

Earlier Friday, 37-year-old Dale Wayne Bailey of Las Vegas man was killed when his bicycle collided with a pickup truck driven by 52-year-old Gregory Hofnagle at Desert Inn Road and Polaris Avenue, Metro Police said. Police said Bailey was at fault.

In North Las Vegas about 5 a.m. Saturday, Alfonso Vizuet-Vizuet, 28, was found dead on the ground in the 4000 block of Losee Road after he apparently lost control of his white four-door Toyota Corolla, hit a wall and flipped onto its roof.

About an hour later, a 29-year-old woman was killed on Interstate 15 near the St. Rose Parkway exit after apparently losing control of her 1998 Honda convertible. Her name has not yet been released.

In addition to the fatalities, several people were hospitalized with injuries, authorities said.

A motorcyclist, 53-year-old William Moore, was injured Sunday morning at Lake Mead Boulevard and Mount Rainier Avenue when he collided with a 1999 Chevrolet pickup truck driven by 21-year-old Jason Delosh. Both were hospitalized with non life-threatening injuries.

Earlier that morning, 21-year-old Joshua Chavarria of Las Vegas was critically injured in a four-car collision at Flamingo Road and Nellis Boulevard, Metro Police said.

Police said Chavarria, driving a 1997 Saturn SL2, ran a red light and was driven into the path of a 1995 Nissan. That driver, Charles Handley, 54, of Las Vegas was in serious condition at University Medical Center. Two other drivers suffered minor injuries.

A 19-year-old pedestrian, Adam Hanneman of Las Vegas, was hit by a 2003 GMC Yukon about 9 p.m. Friday while trying to cross Nellis Boulevard at Gowan Road.

Police said Hanneman ran into the path of the truck and suffered serious injuries. The driver, 39-year-old Raymond Page of Las Vegas was not injured.

Three men in a Ford Aerostar minivan were hospitalized after the vehicle rear-ended a car on Interstate 15 near Sahara Avenue about 9:30 a.m. Friday, Trooper Loy Hixson of the Nevada Highway Patrol said.

Two passengers in the van were critically injured, and the driver, who was treated at a hospital and released, was arrested for suspicion of drunken driving, Hixson said.

And a 87-year-old Reno man, Herschel Grill, remained in critical condition this morning at UMC after driving his 1991 Buck Regal into two concrete construction barriers on Jones Boulevard near Farm Road about 3:30 p.m. Friday, Metro Police said.

A woman injured in a different crash Friday also was in critical condition. Retta Waller, 84, of Las Vegas drove a 2002 Subaru Outback into the path of a 1993 Mercury Cougar at Flamingo Road and Ridge Brook Road about 2:45 p.m., police said.