2 killed, 5 injured in weekend car crashes

Heather Rawlyk and Jen Lawson

Monday, Oct. 18, 2004 | 9:39 a.m.

A 41-year-old woman and an 18-year-old man were killed and five other people were seriously injured this weekend in vehicle collisions in Las Vegas and North Las Vegas.

Sheila Lewis and Armone Smith of Las Vegas were passengers in a 1985 Chevrolet Caprice that was hit on the passenger side by a van about 4:15 p.m. Saturday on Martin Luther King Boulevard near Lake Mead Boulevard, Metro Police said.

The 1997 Chrysler van, driven by Dennis Shelton Jr., 64, of Las Vegas made a left turn from Martin Luther King onto Lake Mead and struck the Caprice, which was being driven by a 17-year-old.

Lewis and Smith were thrown from the car and were pronounced dead at University Medical Center. They were the 101st and 102nd people to die in traffic this year in Las Vegas and unincorporated Clark County, police said.

The teen driver of the Caprice suffered moderate injuries. Shelton and four children in the van, ages 7, 6, 9 and 10 were not hurt, police said.

Five other people -- including four in North Las Vegas -- suffered serious or critical injuries in other collisions, police said.

About 10 p.m. Sunday, 19-year-old Sylvia Villalobos of Las Vegas was critically injured when she tried to pass a car just after 10 p.m. on Betty Lane near Carey Avenue and lost control of her 1993 Honda, police said.

Villalobos' car veered off the road and hit a 1991 Honda driven by an 18-year-old man. Villalobos' car spun clockwise and rolled over.

Villalobos was taken to UMC with critical injuries. Speed appears to be the cause of the collision, police said.

About 2:45 a.m. Sunday, 25-year-old Vandana Reddy of Las Vegas was seriously injured when her silver Pontiac Grand Am hit a concrete barrier at the 3800 block of North Fifth Street.

Police said Reddy was speeding when the Pontiac drifted left and jumped a curb onto a sidewalk and into a construction area.

The Pontiac passed through several orange and white barriers and road closure signs before slamming into the concrete barrier head-on, police said. Reddy was taken to UMC's Trauma Center in critical condition.

Also, a Las Vegas man was seriously injured about 9:40 p.m. Saturday when he lost control of the silver Harley Davidson motorcycle he was driving on Hammer Lane near Ann Road.

Police said Brad Plambeck was speeding down Hammer Lane approaching Elm View Street and apparently didn't realize that the road he was on dead ends at that intersection.

Plamback skidded 150-feet and ran into a block wall, police said. He was taken to UMC's Trauma Center in critical condition.

And Matthew Rollins, 33, was seriously hurt about 7:30 p.m. Friday when the black Ninja motorcycle he was driving collided with a light blue Mercedes two-door sedan driven by 56-year-old Edwin Collins, police said.

Police said Collins pulled the Mercedes out of the parking lot of Texas Station onto West Lake Mead Boulevard and crossed several lanes before colliding with the motorcycle.

Rollins was taken to University Medical Center's Trauma Center to be treated for numerous broken bones.

Also on Friday, Patricia Deary of Las Vegas sustained serious back injuries about 5:20 p.m. when the Geo Prism she was driving was rear-ended by a man driving a Lexus at the 3600 block of Martin Luther King Boulevard in North Las Vegas.

All of the collisions were still under investigation this morning, police said.