Monday, Feb. 21, 2005 | 10:52 a.m.
A tractor-trailer driver and his passenger were killed early this morning after their truck struck a highway median and burst into flames, prompting the 6 1/2-hour closure of a section of Interstate 15, the Nevada Highway Patrol said.
The crash this morning was the second tractor-trailer crash near the on-ramp at I-15 and Washington Avenue in a little more than a week.
In the latest incident, witnesses told troopers that an Interstate Trucking Co. 18-wheeler began to swerve and struck the median about 3:25 a.m., causing the cab of the truck to explode before it rolled into tree-lined area near the ramp, according to the highway patrol.
The driver and a woman who was riding with him were pronounced dead at the scene of the crash. Their names were not released this morning. According to the highway patrol, the pair was transporting household goods to New York for a major department store.
Crews this morning cleaned up the diesel fuel that had sprayed from the truck along the northbound lanes before the affected stretch of I-15 was reopened about 10 a.m.
Another truck overturned on I-15 near D Street on Feb. 11 and slowed traffic to a crawl as far south as the Spring Mountain Road exit, troopers said. That crash was attributed to high speed coupled with rainy conditions.
That stretch of I-15 is routinely the site of similar rain-related crashes, as high traffic levels and tight turns make it particularly treacherous for truckers, the NHP said.
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