Two hurt in truck accidents

Eric Leake

Wednesday, May 25, 2005 | 9:55 a.m.

Construction industry vehicles were involved in two separate traffic collisions Tuesday afternoon sending the drivers of a moped and a pickup truck to area hospitals with serious to critical injuries, authorities said.

Police said Paul Ernst, 36, was driving his 2002 Toyota Tundra pickup truck east on Tropicana Avenue near Tenaya Way shortly after 1 p.m. when he crossed five lanes of traffic into the path of a fully loaded gravel truck.

Roy Hoisington, 40, drove the Peterbilt gravel truck onto the sidewalk but could not avoid a head-on collision with the pickup, police said. The pickup hit the Peterbilt on the front left side and spun into a third vehicle.

The pickup truck was nearly severed in half.

Ernst was taken by helicopter to University Medical Center in critical condition.

Metro Sgt. Tracy McDonald said it is a miracle Ernst survived the collision. "He was not seat-belted, partially ejected, and hanging out the passenger window when the paramedics arrived," McDonald said.

He said the the gravel truck, hauling two full trailers, had a total weight estimated at 100,000 pounds.

"It was a violent crash to say the least," McDonald said.

He said witnesses and evidence indicate that Ernst was speeding, and that an officer reported that Ernst smelled of alcohol.

The driver of the gravel truck was treated for minor injuries and released. The collision temporarily closed Tropicana Avenue to traffic.

In the second collision, a 1993 Freightliner utility truck hit a man on a moped at the intersection of Decatur Boulevard and Grand Teton Drive around 2:50 p.m.

Police reported that the truck driver, Kenneth Hulet, 58, was attempting a left turn at the intersection and failed to yield the right-of-way, driving into the path of Robert Sullivan, 50.

Sullivan was thrown from his moped when he struck the front of the utility truck, according to the report. He was not wearing a helmet and was flown to UMC in serious condition.

McDonald said Hulet told police that he did not see the moped because another vehicle obstructed his view. Hulet was cited for failure to yield.

McDonald said it is too early to say if the vehicular manslaughter charge, signed into law early this month, could apply to either collision because those involved will hopefully recover.

"We still need to get this new law and go through it line by line," he said.