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twitterCoroner identifies woman, 18, killed in I-15 crash
Friday, March 20, 2009 | 10:48 a.m.
Crash
The 18-year-old woman who died at the scene of a single-vehicle crash Wednesday night near the Las Vegas Motor Speedway has been identified as Kassi Linn Kelley of St. George, Utah, the Clark County Coroner's Office said.
The cause of her death was several blunt force traumatic injuries due to the car crash, a spokeswoman for the coroner's office said.
A Toyota Scion traveling north on Interstate 15 drifted off the right side of the freeway onto a dirt embankment near the turnoff for the Speedway, said Trooper Kevin Honea of the Nevada Highway Patrol.
The woman steered to the left in an apparent attempt to return to the highway, Honea said. As the car swerved out of control, the Toyota hit a concrete culvert and vaulted, then overturned, he said.
Kelley wasn't wearing a seatbelt and was thrown from the car, Honea said. She was pronounced dead at the scene by emergency medical paramedics.
This is the sixth motor vehicle fatal crash in Nevada Highway Patrol jurisdiction this year, Honea said. Four of those victims weren't wearing seatbelts, he said.
Discussion: 27 comments so far…
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Once again a member of law enforcement has to notify a couple that there child is dead for being stupid! i dont doubt speed was a factor as well as lack of sleep. but she still might be around had she took 1 sec,and clicked it!!! The kids today dont relize that its more than just a way to travel,but also a letheal weapon too.
Its not just kids that don't wear their belts.
To the first person who left a comment..(rumrunner)
How dare you call this precious young girl stupid after her life was already taken from her. We all make mistakes and i'm sure you have made PLENTY of them. We all know what we are supposed to do, but sometimes we just don't follow the rules.And as far as her parents being notified you wont have to worry about her mother because her life was quickly taken in a car crash last year when Kassie was only 17 years old! You have no idea how much this family has gone through, Cold Blooded people like you make me sick.By the way, coming from someone who knows the facts, speed was NOT a factor at all, in fact they determined she was driving farily slow and just lost control as she swerved to get back on the high way.You just better hope that you never have to loose a loved one in such a tragedy. If I were you I would count my blessings and then say a prayer for the family and for Kassie and keep your selfish comments to yourself.
I have to say I am with rumrunner on this one. You are truely stupid if you don't wear your seat belt. Where this girl has lost her life and her family are greiving it was clearly her choice to drive without one and now she pays the price of that decision. Everyday we hear the same thing " ejected from the vehicle". What does it take to get through to these people? And yes Aashby I do know what the family is going through. I have lost family to the same stupidity.
When I was a child there were no seatbelt usage laws or even manufacturing laws requiring automakers to equip seatbelts in their automobiles.
Dad corrected the safety oversight by installing seatbelts (just lap-belts) in all our automobiles requiring us to use them.
I share this story today because of the seatbelt usage habit dad installed in me at an early age.
I think we all have lost family, but you have NO idea the TRAMA that this family has been through. I have always worn my seatbelt, i am a firm believer in it. But calling someone stupid after they are already gone is just ignorant. Wow, it just shows what American Citizens have turned into. I would sure hope that if you lost a loved one do to something like this you people wouldn't just brush it off as o well it was thier stupidity and now they pay the price..i have one word for you people EVIL! You won't change my mind on this, I don't care how GOOD or SMART you are, these comments pointing out stupidity are ruthless! You people are apparently just too perfect for this world..dont you think we all know that if she had that seatbelt on she may still be around. All your doing is rubbing it in, and the funny part is you dont even have anything to do with this event.
Comment removed by staff.
God is the only one that is PERFECT, and not even HE would ever look down upon someone for making a mistake as much as you people are! SICK SICK SICK!
Comment removed by staff.
kruzzinknight sent me an email personally attacking me with a rather foul mouthed tirade. Dude/chick, I didn't know this girl, I don't know you. You certainly don't know me. You change no minds here and attacking me will only serve to further your feeling being hurt.
Anyone who drives a car without wearing a seatbelt is taking a calculated risk regarding their own safety - period. I cannot imagine getting into a car and not wearing a seatbelt, but that's me.
As for speed being a factor, speed is ALWAYS A FACTOR in auto accidents because nobody dies in a one-vehicle crash if the vehicle is traveling at 0.0 MPH.
In other words, driving a vehicle in and of itself is a calculated risk. One can mitigate those risks -- by not driving while tired or under the influence, not driving while using a handheld device, not driving beyond the capabilities of yourself or your vehicle, always wearing a seatbelt -- but the risks cannot be eliminated, only mitigated.
In the end, vehicular "accidents" are very rare while "incidents" happen every day. Choose your path.
Seat belt usage runs about 90%, according to the Auto Safety Council publishings. That means 10% of the population is rolling dice with their lives just driving down the street, road or highway. Think about it.
Mandatory seatbelt laws for adults are another part of the ever-growing nanny state. I choose to not wear one, trusting in my ability to be a competent driver who is alert to the mistakes of others. Yes, it is a risk, but it is MY descision, not the government telling what is best for me. I'm sure I've read a few books that the government thinks are bad, too.
First, there's no such thing as a Toyota Scion. There's the Scion brand that is made under Toyota (think of the Mazda/Ford relationship).
Second, while rumrunner's comment wasn't nice, he was saying it like it is. It would've been more tactful to say that WHAT she did was dumb, but nevertheless the point is that mostly laziness/ignorance caused this.
It is very sad. I myself at times don't wear a seatbelt, but that's mostly because I REALLY have to use the john or I'm in the neighborhood and doing under 30 mph. On a freeway, it is just plain smart thinking to wear a belt.
Boftx:
Here's a story for why you should wear a belt, even if the government tells you to.
I was in San Jose with a friend cruising a residential/commercial area. The speed limit was about 40. We T-boned a car coming out of a parking lot. They had a STOP sign and a NO LEFT TURN sign. This girl faked like she was going right and U-turned into the center turn lane. She then decided to make a right turn across two lanes of traffic without looking (did I mention she had NO license). Not our fault, but we still got into a scary accident. I wasn't wearing a seatbelt, and I count myself lucky that day that I didn't fly through the windshield. I instead braced and ping ponged from the front dash, to the stearing wheel, to the floor boards. I wasn't hurt, just damn lucky. Wear a belt, because you might be the safest driver, but that won't stop you from being blindsided by a total idiot who has no clue how to drive.
The only valid arguments I have heard for seatbelt laws are fiscal. In fact, my present life insurance policy pays an additional $10,000 dollars if I die in a car accident while wearing a seatbelt. That is a worthy consideration. If I choose to wear a seatbelt it will be because I deem it appropriate.
Other than those considerations, I find seatbelt and helmet laws for adults offensive to say the least. It should be a free choice. I am not saying that wearing a seatbelt is bad, but it should not be mandated on the basis of the government protecting you from yourself.
Fair enough. Like I said, you might be the safest driver, but you can still get blindsided by a drunk with no license running a red light and speeding.
What a terrible waste.
1. Always wear your seatbelt. If you are concerned about the seatbelt malfunctioning and retraining you after a crash, this would be a reason to carry a knife (with a glass breaker pommel), not a reason not to wear a seatbelt. Here's a sweet one: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/KM2000
2. If you ever leave the road, GENTLY drive back onto the road. Don't freaking panic and whip the steering wheel around.
As to my defense,i am an ex law enforcement officer,and had to visit two different families and tell them that there child was dead,because he didnt wear his seatbelt! And both were very servivable had they worn that device!!! Ever done it,then dont bash me!!!
if anyone knows kassi's my space name I would read about her intrests and such i feel for this girl who had her life snached from her so quickley, ive read all the comments and its my opinion that some of you are not very respectful of the dead as has been said we all make mistakes you never know so dont judge maybe she is an avid seat belt user but its possable she wasent feeling well and didint want it on or somthing you dont know maybe she unhooked for a sec to get somting on the floor that could have fallen a drink or somthing who knows its anyones speculation i know something happened and it was drastic how do i know because i was there right behind her car when it happened and i was standing next to her body as it lay on the ground lifeless as her eyes just stared at the dirt in my mind i was impacted and crushed to think just 1 min ago this girl was going down the highway maryalee on her way headed home and is now gone from this world she never knew that in one min she was going to be dead so hush your harshness be reverent and you people who want to critisize be mindful of your own actions and be respectful of those who hit misfortunes like this but she is in a much better place and with her mother i have learned. to her family im so sorry for your loss and my heart goes out to you im also from st george and we myself and my wife were there when this horrable tragedy happedend to what looked like a very very kind girl such a tragedy be carful and for anyone who is wondering she was just doing the speed limit if anything a little slower thank you! again, i was there and there were alot of very kind loving people there as well and alot of tears were being shed as we cleaned up the mess and tryed to make sense of what just happened it affects you when you see somthing like this, some young girls were there as well who were witness to this as well and it was hard for everyone god bless this family as they move through this trying time say a prayer for them .
ps. me and my wife are motorcyclist and were on our bikes that day and we are very mindful of everything that is going on around us at all times .. ( no seat belts )food for thought, life is risky at best, its rullet, stuff happens, there s no way to explain it, murphys law!!
With regard to law's mandating seatbelt usage"there should be equivalent laws requiring citizens to possess firearms.
Very difficult to read that hodge-podge of misspelled words - Quite a testament to our educational system - NOT. Maybe the government should concern themselves more with educating Americans enough to write a sentence or a paragraph and spell a word as simple as 'carEful' correctly.
WOW !!!!azsk8fan you are something im trying to be as non offensive as i can and explain my feelings and you gotta come on here being all pretensious and try to discredit my comment by tearing my grammer apart you obviously know what i was saying so if i missed a letter its your problem not mine if you dont like what i have to say dont read what i wrote it does not speak very highly of your problem solving skills does it sounds to me like some issues sounds like someone needs a hug buddy why ??? why would you come on here and try to grind my spelling on this comment no were in the forum outline did it say you have to spell correctly at al doe youu gett mi meningg if i wana misss a worrd i gettt 2 do youu geet meee friennd...!!
som pepols kkids neeed 2 lern two beEE nicE iM suRe tHaT azsk8fan DiD NotT havE meny frIeNds aT aaLL lonER lol !!!!!
for whoever wrote that first and third comment , i cannot beileve you .
Kassi was my cousin . my first cousin , and someone i loved VERY MUCH . and for someone to just sit there and say that shes stupid ,and for me to read it , just makes me sick.
i dont care who you are, or what your job was or what you had to tell people at one point in your life , a mistake doesnt make a person stupid .
and the fact that my cousin is gone forever , and someone is just sitting here calling her stupid , makes me SO ANGRY !
thank you to aashby for sticking up for her in some sort of way .
she was a beautiful girl .
she had been having a hard life since her mom committed suicide last year .. and her life had been going down hill ever since . so you have NO IDEA what she was going through .
she was amazing and one of my favorite people .
not to mention she was my older sisters very best friend .
so , i dont care who you are ; dont ever post online that someone is stupid for making a mistake that thousands of people are making EVERY DAY .
she lost her life , and wont ever get it back , and i wont ever get my cousin back . just think about it from the point of view of the ones shes left behind ..
here is a most recent picture of her , i cropped my sister out of it ..
http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=34hba83&...
i miss her & love her more than ever /:
I wish I could make time pass faster so the healing could come. You will never forget, but in time you will heal. Everyday I come to the aid of victims involved in traumatic incidents. I am a Rescue worker for the Fire Department. So many times I say, If only ... but you cannot turn back time. The story of Kassi, should be used in a positive manner to bring awareness to youth, in High Schools, Jr high etc .. it is a powerful message. You can make a difference.. her death can be a Legacy for Life...it depends on what you ( her best friends and family ) do with it. I can feel your love and your lose.. I know you will do what's best.
God Bless You.
What a tragic loss of a young life. My condolences to her family.
I agree 100% with botfx:
"The only valid arguments I have heard for seatbelt laws are fiscal. In fact, my present life insurance policy pays an additional $10,000 dollars if I die in a car accident while wearing a seat-belt. That is a worthy consideration. If I choose to wear a seat-belt it will be because I deem it appropriate.
Other than those considerations, I find seatbelt and helmet laws for adults offensive to say the least. It should be a free choice. I am not saying that wearing a seatbelt is bad, but it should not be mandated on the basis of the government protecting you from yourself." ( I do agree seat-belts serve a purpose, but no one should be forced to wear one. Many of us grew up with out seat belts and are alive today.)
This young lady made a choice. We were not there to see the incident. Police can only articulate probabilities, unless there was a witness. Either way, we Americans are ignorant to think that we can pass laws restricting the very freedoms that this country was founded on. If we drive without a belt, or ride without a helmet, and we die...it was our choice. We are all closer to death every day. A law will not prevent us from dying, simply restrict the freedoms we have while we are alive.
Stop voting for feel good laws, and the politicians that propose them.
My condolences to the family. I am sorry for the judgmental perfect people in this forum passing their ignorant views.