Man killed in crash on Interstate 15

Thursday, Feb. 3, 2005 | 10:49 a.m.

A man was killed Wednesday afternoon when he lost control of his minivan on northbound Interstate 15 near Sloan, the Nevada Highway Patrol said.

Troopers said the minivan, a 2003 Chrysler Town and Country, was traveling on the freeway about 4 p.m. when the vehicle drifted off the roadway into a dirt area. The driver, whose name and age were not available this morning, overcorrected and caused the minivan to crash into a barrier wall, according to an NHP statement.

The vehicle came to rest on its roof facing I-15, the department said. The driver died at the scene.

Investigators say a failure to stay in his lane caused the crash. They have not yet determined if the driver was under the influence of drugs or alcohol when the crash occurred, Trooper Angie Chavera, a Highway Patrol spokeswoman, said.

The violent nature of the wreckage also made it difficult for investigators to tell if he was wearing a seatbelt, she said.

It was the fourth traffic death handled by the highway patrol in the Las Vegas Valley this year and the second on I-15, troopers said.

Roughly one-third of the 114 fatal accidents investigated by NHP on valley highways last year occurred on I-15, Chavera said.