News briefs for March 28, 2005

Monday, March 28, 2005 | 11:17 a.m.

Woman killed in crash this morning

Fatigue may have been to blame for a crash early this morning that killed a woman and injured two other people, North Las Vegas Police said.

Officers said the woman, whose name and age were not released, may have fallen asleep as she drove her Honda Civic along Camino Al Norte near Lone Mountain Road about 4:45 a.m., causing the car to strike a curb on the right side of the road.

She apparently overcorrected, causing the vehicle to flip and enter the southbound lanes, Officer Tim Bedwell, a North Las Vegas Police spokesman, said.

The vehicle was then struck by two others, a Ford pickup truck and an older model Honda Civic, he said. The other drivers, both men driving alone, were taken to University Medical Center with serious but non life-threatening injuries, Bedwell said.

The woman, who Bedwell said may not have been wearing her seat belt, died at the scene.

Woman, 77, critically injured

A 77-year-old woman was in critical condition this morning after the minivan in which she was traveling crossed in front of another car at a North Las Vegas intersection.

Police said the 1998 Pontiac Transport driven by Robert Catanzano was traveling east on Cheyenne Avenue about 9 p.m. Saturday when, while making a left turn onto North 5th Street, it turned into the path of a 2001 Honda Civic driven by Jeff Arzola.

Arzola, whose car was carrying four other passengers, including an 11-month-old child, braked heavily before broadsiding the minivan. None of his passengers were wearing seat belts, police said.

The woman in the minivan and the child in Arzola's car, whose names were not released, were taken to University Medical Center. The woman remained in critical condition and the child was treated and released, police said.

Driver injured in roll-over

A 35-year-old woman was in critical condition this morning after her car rolled over at 6:35 p.m. Friday on Martin Luther King Boulevard between Carey and Cheyenne avenues, North Las Vegas Police said.

The woman, Tasha Sanchez, was the only one in the car, North Las Vegas Police spokesman Tim Bedwell said.

She was taken to University Medical Center, he said.

Witnesses told police that the vehicle was traveling south on MLK in a "reckless manner," Bedwell said.

The vehicle, which crossed the median into northbound traffic lanes, overturned and the driver was ejected, Bedwell said. The driver's vehicle may have struck her before it stopped, police said.

Drainage project to slow traffic

A storm drainage improvement project is closing parts of Rancho Lane and Charleston Boulevard for the next five months, Las Vegas Public Works said.

Charleston Boulevard, between Shadow Lane and Rancho Drive, is limited to two traffic lanes each way during the day and one lane each way during the night.

Rancho Lane, which connects Tonopah Drive and Rancho Drive, is limited to one-way northbound traffic only.

Sahara Avenue and Oakey Boulevard are suggested as alternative routes to avoid traffic delays.

Public Works said it has planned day, night, and weekend work to minimize construction time. Work began over the weekend.

The work is part of a $4.1 million project that will take about 5 months, Public Works said.

Supreme Court denies appeal

Geovanny Torres, sentenced to a life term in prison with the possibility of parole, has lost his latest appeal to the Nevada Supreme Court.

The court upheld District Judge John McGroarty, who denied Torres' effort to get a new trial. Torres said the lawyers who represented him at his trial and at his first appeal in 2003 did not do their jos properly.

Torres was convicted of the fatal shooting of Alfonso Lazaro in the parking lot of a Las Vegas bar in 1996. Prison records show Torres, now 36, would be eligible to apply for parole in August 2019.

County seeks money for voting machines

Clark County asked the Legislature today for $15 million to buy new voting machines to comply with the requirements set out by Secretary of State Dean Heller.

Dan Musgrove, representing Clark County, told the Senate Finance Committee today it has the voting machines but they can't be retrofitted with the paper trail required by Heller.

Heller could not be reached for comment. But he has ordered that all machines must be equipped with paper recording devices at the next election. His office, using federal funds, bought new units for rural Nevada and Washoe County.

Musgrove said the money would purchase 4,400 machines that would be able to provide paper records of the votes.

The committee agreed to introduce the bill.