One dead, three hurt in crash on beltway

Heather Rawlyk

Wednesday, June 23, 2004 | 9:38 a.m.

A 40-year-old Las Vegas man was killed and three others were seriously injured Tuesday night after the driver of a sport utility vehicle ran a red traffic light and collided with a pickup truck at the intersection of Town Center Drive and the Las Vegas Beltway.

The driver of a maroon 2001 Ford F150 pickup truck was driving east on the beltway when he entered the intersection of Town Center Drive on a green light, according to Nevada Highway Patrol Sgt. Joseph Wingard.

At that time the driver of the silver 2004 Toyota Highlander drove through the red light to turn left onto the beltway's eastbound ramp, colliding with the pickup truck. The Highlander's right side was badly damaged.

The pickup rolled several times and landed on its roof on the right shoulder of the beltway's eastbound exit. The pickup's sole occupant was able to escape before the truck burst into flames, police said.

Clark County firefighters arrived and put out the fire, Wingard said. The driver of the pickup truck did not suffer any burns, but was injured from the collision.

With the right side of the Highlander crushed in, its three occupants were trapped inside as the vehicle stopped on the left side of the exit, Wingard said.

All four people involved in the collision were transported by ambulance to University Medical Center, he said.

Welfrado Baja, an occupant in the Highlander, was taken to University Medical Center with a head injury and died several hours later.

Others suffered serious injuries, he said.

"The Highlander had two passengers, so it wouldn't surprise me that the driver may have gotten distracted and wasn't paying attention at the stop light," Wingard said. "The driver may have also just been impatient."

Wingard said collisions such as this can be easily prevented.

"In situations like this all I can say is you need to be patient and stop at red lights," he said.