Woman who died in I-15 crash near Jean identified

By Sun Staff (contact)

Monday, July 27, 2009 | 3:15 p.m.

A woman who was ejected through a rear window and pronounced dead at the scene of a crash near Jean about 11 a.m. Saturday has been identified.

The Clark County Coroner's Office said 55-year-old Dora Lanares of Los Angeles died from a closed head injury and injuries related to the single-vehicle crash, a spokeswoman for the coroner's office said. The death was ruled an accident.

The crash tied up traffic on Interstate 15 near Jean for about three hours, the Nevada Highway Patrol said.

The crash occurred as a Toyota 4Runner with California license plates was traveling north in the center lane of I-15 when the tread on one of the vehicle's rear tires separated, Nevada Highway Patrol Sgt. Kevin Honea said.

The driver was able to maintain control of the vehicle for some distance, but lost control after hitting the brakes, Honea said.

The vehicle then went across another travel lane and the paved shoulder before hitting the guardrail, causing the vehicle to spin multiple times, he said.

Three rear-seat passengers weren't wearing seat belts, Honea said. One was thrown through a rear window and was pronounced dead at the scene.

The two other backseat passengers were taken to University Medical Center's Trauma Unit with non-life threatening injuries.

The driver and front-seat passenger were wearing seat belts and weren't injured in the wreck, Honea said.

Traffic was diverted from northbound I-15 to Las Vegas Boulevard through Jean until about 2 p.m. Saturday.