Dirt bike rider injured in crash with pickup truck

Thursday, March 17, 2005 | 9:36 a.m.

A Las Vegas man was in critical condition this morning after the dirt bike he was test driving collided with a pickup truck, Metro Police said.

Max Davis, 22, was traveling north at a high rate of speed on Gagnier Boulevard near Wigwam Avenue about 6 p.m. Wednesday when he failed to stop at a stop sign and was struck by a 2004 Chevrolet Colorado driven by 18-year-old Alee Cookingham, police said.

Davis was knocked from the dirt bike and struck a block wall on the north edge of the roadway. Detectives this morning were investigating how fast the bike was traveling, although witnesses told police it was exceeding the posted 35-mph speed limit, Sgt. Tracy McDonald of Metro's traffic investigation section said.

Davis, who police said had turned down a helmet offered by the seller of the 2001 Honda he was test driving, was taken to University Medical Center, where he remained in critical condition this morning. Cookingham also went to UMC where he was treated for minor injuries, police said.

Under Nevada law, the seller of the dirt bike, which was not street legal, will likely not face any criminal charges or citations, although it may arise in civil court, McDonald said.

The crash was under investigation this morning, but the preliminary determination was that it had been caused by Davis failing to stop at the stop sign, officers said.