Two people hurt in crash near McCarran

Mary Manning and David Kihara

Tuesday, Feb. 22, 2005 | 11:09 a.m.

Two people remained hospitalized this morning after rain-slicked streets caused their car to skid out of control and crash near McCarran International Airport, Metro Police said.

As rain pounded Las Vegas Monday afternoon, 23-year-old David Perez of Las Vegas drove his 1997 Kia through the airport tunnel going north on Swenson Avenue, the street's pavement slippery from a downpour that refused to quit.

Perez lost control of his car on Swenson about 4:51 p.m. and it hit a guard rail and then a street light pole, Metro Police said.

Perez was taken to Sunrise Hospital Trauma Center with severe head injuries and was in serious condition this morning, officials said.

A passenger in the car, 24-year-old Andrea Rivas, was in fair condition at Sunrise after her legs were crushed in the accident, Metro Lt. Chris Carroll said.

"They are expected to live," Carroll said.

That was the most serious accident Metro handled Monday among dozens caused by record-breaking rainfall, Carroll said. No other serious injuries were reported on Las Vegas roads during the rain, Sgt. Tracy McDonald of Metro's traffic investigation section said this morning.

About 27 officers -- three nine-person squads -- are expected to patrol local roads today, up from the two squads working Monday, McDonald said.

"Any rain event like that we know our workload is going to double or triple, especially when you add in the flooding," he said. "We're crossing our fingers. We could use a break."

It was one of the 130 crashes the Nevada Highway Patrol responded to during the Presidents Day weekend, Trooper Angie Chavera, a highway patrol spokeswoman, said. Of those, more than half -- 60 -- occurred on Friday, she said.

Troopers responded to 20 crashes on Monday, slightly less than the 25 to 35 troopers normally see on Mondays but more than a typical holiday Monday, Chavera said.

Another couple, stuck in muck in the desert south of Las Vegas inside their pickup truck late Monday, would have to spend the night, Carroll said. It was pouring rain at 10 p.m. and a rescue helicopter could not reach them.

"They're OK, they have blankets and stuff and they can stay in the truck overnight," Carroll said.

A downpour over the Spring Mountain foothills and northwestern Las Vegas earlier Monday dumped between three and four inches of rain that flooded El Capitan, Fort Apache and Alexandra streets, the National Weather Service said.

A flash flood warning was issued Monday afternoon until 7:45 p.m. for the northwest valley.

A flood warning for Clark County was in effect until 4 a.m. today.

Rainfall in the northwest valley fell from 0.2 of an inch to half an inch per hour during the heaviest part of the storm, weather service meteorologist Barry Pierce said.

The Regional Flood Control District's emergency action plan calls for Alexandra to channel floodwaters from the Lone Mountain detention basin to the Gowan detention basin downstream, Pierce said.

"The flood control district is completing work on connecting the basins with channels," Pierce said.

Also on Monday, the heavy rains from recent days caused sections of a ceiling to collapse in a house on Point Willow Lane, leaving no injuries but causing between $15,000 to $20,000 in damages.

The ceiling collapse was the only serious incident in what was otherwise a relatively quiet night for rescue crews, as no other significant property damage was reported and no swift-water rescues were needed overnight, Bob Leinbach, a spokesman for the Clark County Fire Department, said.

The damage was caused after the drain on the flat roof had become clogged with pine needles and other debris, said Capt. Dave Lloyd of the Clark County Fire Department.

At least 9 or 10 inches of rainwater had accumulated on the roof during the weekend and on Monday, eventually soaking through the roof and into the ceiling until, saturated with water, the ceiling collapsed, he said. Firefighters cleared the clogged drain, allowing the water to drain properly.

By this point, however, the damage had already occurred, said Maria Luisa Murillo, the homeowner. Muillo has lived in the house since she moved to Las Vegas from Dallas nine years ago.

The water and ceiling debris caused extensive damage to a bedroom of her house, and she and family friends and neighbors spent Monday night clearing heirlooms and bedding from the room.

"I lived in Dallas for 30 years and never had any problems, and it rains a lot out there," she said. "I used to tell people when they said it rains here that it rains buckets back there. So I never thought something like this would happen here."

Stormy weather is expected today then showers are forecast until the end of the week, the weather service predicted.