Coroner IDs victim in I-15 crash; semi-truck driver sought

By Tiffany Gibson

Published Thursday, April 8, 2010 | 12:58 p.m.

Updated Thursday, April 8, 2010 | 1:42 p.m.

Nevada Highway Patrol troopers are still searching for a semi-truck driver who collided with a motorcyclist in a fatal hit-and-run crash Wednesday on Interstate 15 in Las Vegas.

The Clark County Coroner’s Office on Thursday identified the victim as 57-year-old Charles Ruliffson of Las Vegas.

Nevada Highway Patrol Trooper Chelita Rojas said the crash happened at 4:02 p.m. near the Sahara Avenue exit on northbound Interstate 15. Ruliffson was pronounced dead at the scene. The coroner’s office said the cause of death hasn't been determined.

The crash was recorded on a traffic camera and troopers began searching for the semi-truck involved in the crash, Rojas said.

After looking at the video of the crash, troopers determined Ruliffson crashed into a blue vehicle that was stopping in front of him before the semi-truck was involved.

Trooper Joseph Fackrell said Thursday that troopers haven’t been able to find the semi-truck driver and are still searching. Fackrell said it’s possible the driver might have hit Ruliffson unknowingly and kept driving.

Rojas said the semi-truck’s license plate information couldn’t be obtained from the crash video.

Three lanes on I-15 were closed during the evening rush hour on Wednesday.