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Taxi passenger killed in rear-end crash on I-15
A taxicab was rear-ended a little after 6 p.m. Friday on Interstate 15 near Sahara Avenue. A 62-year-old Michigan man in the back seat of the cab was pronounced dead at the scene. Two other passengers and the cab driver were taken to University Medical Center.
Published Friday, Sept. 3, 2010 | 7:01 p.m.
Updated Friday, Sept. 3, 2010 | 10:54 p.m.
Fatal taxi crash
A passenger in the back seat of a taxi was killed Friday when the cab was rear-ended on I-15, the Nevada Highway Patrol said.
The passenger who died was a 62-year-old man from Michigan, police said. Two other passengers, one in the back seat and one in the front, and the cab driver were taken to University Medical Center with non-life threatening injuries, police said.
None of the passengers were wearing seat belts, Trooper Joseph Fackrell said.
The driver of the other car involved in the crash did not appear to be injured, police said.
Fackrell said there had been another accident in the area a few minutes earlier that had traffic backed up. The cab stopped and was hit by a green Dodge Stratus that caught fire as a result of the impact, he said. Police had initially reported that the cab caught fire.
The crash happened shortly after 6 p.m. near the Sahara Avenue interchange, police said. The northbound lanes of I-15 were closed, and traffic was diverted onto Sahara, police said. The interstate reopened at about 9:45 p.m.
Nellis Cab Co. said a road supervisor responded to the crash scene.
Discussion: 7 comments so far…
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Speed and telephones.
Exploding taxi cabs due to leaking propane tanks, hoses and fittings, was a fairly common occurrence here in Las Vegas not very many years ago, so I'm kinda wondering if this particular cab was powered by propane?
Almost all taxi's in Vegas are propane fueled; however, if this one burst into flames it probably wasn't.
Propane has different burning qualities than gasoline.
How many more accidents and how many more people have to be killed on this SINGLE stretch of highway until it gets fixed??? This is the worst portion of the freeway in all of Las Vegas. Where are the civil engineers working on how to redesign the entrance and exit ramps around Sahara/Charleston/95? It needs to be done because traffic is only getting worse around there. We obviously have enough money for road construction projects, because every road I drive in town has SOME time of construction, or some road being ripped up and repaved. I mean, seriously... Look around... Boulder Highway is ripped to shreds, Flamingo at Las Vegas Blvd has been in construction of HOW long, Durango being widened/repaved, I-15 being widened... I mean, the list goes on and on... While most of these projects are "nice", they are not necessary. How about actually fixing the problems in the city road ways, instead of making all roads that are working JUST fine prettier.
My first comment removed by staff,would staff like to comment on comment removed by staff comment,or should I hope to refraise my comment.I was trying to be ironic you know,mabey a bit funny,sorry for the loss,pointing out probably what just a few people might be thinking,not necessarily my view,but I guess we will never know how innapropriate he thinks I be.
People need to slow down.. I still don't understand why the speed limit is 65mph through the heart of the city.. If you drive in any other city across the U.S., it's 50-55.. At least people would only go 65 instead of 80.. This part of the freeway is definitely a death trap.. I'm so tired of the horrible drivers in this town, and can't wait to leave.. As a native, I'm truly saddened why our mayor and other political figures can't ban cell phone and texting. Red light cameras would slow people down and generate income for the city.. This town is out of control!!!
Of course the cabdriver is not at fault in any way whatsoever... He is probably complaining that he lost the fare because of the accident...But who knows.........
getalife, no where near almost all are powered by propane. the only cabs on the road are from yellow checker star and only their crown vics are powered by propane. no other company has propane.
ycs accounts for probably 1/5th of all the cabs on the road.
chances are, some idiot on the phone not paying attention
"Of course the cabdriver is not at fault in any way whatsoever... He is probably complaining that he lost the fare because of the accident...But who knows........."
are you kidding? you cant be serious! the cab company will write off that fare
oh yea, since this town hates cabbies, does anyone know if the damn cab driver made it out ok?
cabbie probably cut someone off and hit the brakes, truck ran into him.
Strange it exploded, wonder what type of car it was. I didn't know pinto's were still on the road.
sevenhills-Amazing how you can analyze the accident from your keyboard.
isn't it? I amaze myself too.
In case all you amateur accident investigators don't know it, there is a design flaw around I-15 and Sahara. Many accidents happen there every day.
Im willing to bet it was probably a Ford Crown victoria. Big flaw in all crown vics is the gas tank during rear end collisions. Design is poor and is responsible for hundreds of officers fiery deaths every year. Ford made a special fire plate for them but are an option accesory not standard equipment..so i doubt the taxi fleets have them
This would have NEVER happened if the taxi cab were a diesel powered vehicle! Gasoline will explode under the right conditions. If this were a diesel car, there would have been no explosion or ensuing fire. All the better if the car were battery electric. Which is even safer in accidents like these.
Avitech,
Don't kid yourself, 18 wheelers and other large vehicles are diesel powered and they burst into flames about as often if not more so than gasoline powered cars..
And for the poster who thinks propane isn't flammable, think again....
this is what happens when you use 1973 Ford Pinto's for taxi cabs
Another section of freeway, designed by UNLV's crack transportation engineering department.
ah look its a dodge charger! not a crown vic, not a propane car! hahaahah too all of you people thinking otherwise!
sevenhills, cabbies cause a very small amount of accidents on valley roadways.
considering thats a nellis cab in the picture, theres a damn good chance that person was getting long hauled tho! nellis and desert are bigtime into that issue
i believe sevenhills hit the nail on the head w/his accident re creation...also read the article people...the cab did not explode into flames ...
"The cab stopped and was hit by a green Dodge Stratus that caught fire as a result of the impact, he said. Police had initially reported that the cab caught fire".
Another blow for vegas & the whole tourism draw...i live here & wouldn't want to vacation here nor do i ever utilize any of our taxi services ... i drive on the road w/them so i know they are all dangerous inconsiderate and agressive drivers....why would i want to be in a vehicle w/them behind the wheel??? thoughts & prayers to all involved...
but on the bright side we even made AOL's travel list of most dangerous areas to avoid in Las Vegas ...now that's advertisement...what a shame
The interstate didn't open at 9:45 p.m. It was always "open" but the I-15 overpass over Sahara was still closed at 10:30 p.m. I don't consider that "open," I consider it a clusterf***. I was stuck in this mess coming back to NLV from a restaurant in near SE. Was stuck in traffic from about 8:45 to about 10:30 p.m., when I finally exited Sahara. What an absolute mess. I-15 was still not going through above Sahara at 10:30 p.m.
Metro could have helped the situation by blocking off northbound entrance ramps to Flamingo, Tropicana, Russell, etc. You think? As soon as I turned onto northbound I-15 ramp from Flamingo right past Caesar's, I thought to myself, Oh s*** !
Not fun.
None of the passengers was wearing seatbelts. So let's blame the FREEWAY DESIGN. lol
PS: Diesel does NOT ignite EVER like gasoline. You can douse a lit match in diesel. Are all of you idiots, or just the ones who comment here?
Hey, sevenhills, how did you afford a house in that pricey ghetto when you didn't realize apostrophes were for possessive, not plural?
Probably would not have occurred had the cabbie not long hauled his fare.
I-15 parallel the strip has got to be one of the most dangerous stretches of interstate in the country. Everyone is gawking at the lights.
I think its pretty clear what killed this man... the Lack of a Seatbelt! He was probably thrown hard into the front of the car. Diesel/Gas/Propane was not a factor since the Dodge Stratus caught fire! It's a shame that someone had to die tonight from such a preventable death.
@sevenhills
Ford Pintos had problems when involved with collisions when being hit in the rear of the vehicle. As they have said here, it was the Dodge Stratus that impacted it's front-end that caught fire.
I don't know what is worse: Your fact-checking, or your grammar...
@RPJ
You're only half correct. Diesel fuel certainly has a much higher ignition temperature than gasoline, so no you can't ignite it with a match. HOWEVER, if gasoline is mixed with Diesel, the gasoline can of course ignite, and the high temperature of it's flames then in turn will ignite the Diesel. So if given the proper circumstances in an automobile collision involving multiple vehicles, with different engine types, if the two fuels were to mix, yeah, you could ignite Diesel.
@Planetearthcalling
Propane gas at a nominal pressure, filling a large space is certainly flammable, but under high pressure, it may simply blow the flame out and not explode at all. Propane is an excellent refrigerant, and with cars that have used it as such in Australia, no explosions have ever occurred, even with the condensers exposed in the front of the car. R-134a in your car right now is also flammable, and when burned creates mustard gas. But still, no massive deaths from it yet on the highway. So no, compressed gasses used as fuels are not as dangerous as they seem.
1.No it was not a propane powered cab.
2.No "Almost all taxi's in Vegas are not propane fueled"
3.The taxi is not a Ford Crown Victoria
4.Finally S##t for Brains...The cabbie did not cut someone off and hit the brakes and a truck did not run into him.
Tony Crago is correct.
"Someone is dead and you pedantic morons can only argue over what kind of fuel the taxis use? "
The man from Michigan who was killed in this accident was a husband, a father, a brother and a great friend to all of his students in his 30 years of teaching in Fowler Michigan. Please show some respect.
I wonder if the cab had "uninsured driver coverage." Some don't. Rear end-er, probably not cab company's fault.
isn't there a newer, "extra," lane there now that is exit only at sahara? i know i found myself "caught," in it a few times and looking to get out at the last minute. of course, if that just isn't an option i would get off at sahara and deal with it. but i seem to be in the minority there, most vegas drivers are hot headed idiots willing to do anything to save themselves a few minutes (if that.)
This is terrible. Regardless of whether this was a "longhaul" or not, this poor guy did not deserve to die like this. We are talking 6:00 pm, it's still light out, no rain, etc.
What baffles me is why people don't use seatbelts when in cabs. Here you have a complete stranger driving you around in a city you are not familiar with. Why take a chance?
I have been in LV cabs before that drove unsafely -- running red lights, tailgaiting, talking on the cell phone, etc. I vowed to always wear a seatbelt the next time I ever had to take a cab in LV or any city.
Hopefully visitors to LV will heed this tragedy as to how important it is to wear a seatbelt in a cab.
Check out my LV blog:
http://jimmyhoofa-lv.blogspot.com/
zavatsky: You expect Las Vegans to show some respect? Unfortunately, it's not going to happen in our lifetimes.
Our condolences for your loss.
If NHP would do their job, and enforce the traffic laws on the freeway, most of these accidents would be avoided!! Since there are always accidents at Sahara/I-15 NB, there should ALWAYS be an NHP car there ensuring drivers are extra cautious.
read the story,...the cab didn't catch on fire,...the car that hit it did. guess it doesn't matter if the cab was gas or propane powered. It looks like a Dodge Charger. None of this matters people,...a person was killed,...thats what matters
Can anyone answer why that stretch is always accident prone? I seem to have no problem with the on ramps and off ramps at Sahara. Maybe I'm missing something. Also, the warning sign that read "I-15 closed at Sahara, all traffic must exit" was so close to the Spring Mtn exit, the last exit before Sahara, that by the time they read that sign no one had time to exit at Spring Mtn. I read the sign going 60 mph in the far left lane and thought dam* it "why wasn't that sign back there on NB Russell and the 15?"
This is a request from the families of John A. Meredith and the other men injured in this accident. Our families around the world are grieve stricken at the loss of their father, brother and friend. They are looking at this site to gather some information. Please do not allow insentive posts to add to their grieve.
I still hold true to my previous statement that Diesel fuel is by far the safer alternative on-board a vehicle over gasoline. To say that Diesel is just as dangerous because Big Rigs running on diesel also catch fire is a very ignorant thing to say; and an unfair comparison. Apples to apples here. As a matter of fact, those same big rigs were the ones transporting "Gasoline". It was the gasoline that caught fire, not the diesel. More often than not, when a big rig crashes; the saddle tanks would rupture and the diesel would all start to spill out and go down the storm drain. None of it would ignite because you can use diesel to extinguish a lit match. Diesel is very safe as an on highway use fuel vs. gasoline.
wow, so many people blame the cabbie. amazing huh? proof that cabbies are scum in the eyes of the public.
Very dangerous part of I15. Looks like this happened at the point where the freeway rises (because of the Sahara bridge) and obstructs the view farther up the freeway (blind hill). If traffic is slowing below the rise, bam, crashes happen, all the time.
The roadway needs to be raised to the height of the bridge rise. There is at least 1 accident at this spot every rush hour. The State will claim the area is OK but it is defective.
@zavatsky In order to not be hurt by the many cruel comments on this site, it would be best if you read the article and go no further.
My condolences to the family and I hope the survivors heal quickly.
sevenhills, A Dodge Stratus is a mid size car (like a Malibu or Fusion), not a truck. Very common in rental fleets.
The Cab in the photo looks like a Dodge Charger, Not a Crown Vic.
Avtech, I believe it was the Stratus that caught fire, not the cab (the artile is a little vague, but that's how I read it). Probably a fuel line in the engine bay broke on impact, spilling gasoline on the hot manifold.
I was hit from behind on that exact stretch of highway about 10 years ago, Car ahead of me slammed on brakes, I reacted and slowed, Car following too close behind me drove into me.
The speed limit really isn't the problem. When traffic is moving smoothly through there (rarely) 65 works fine. The problem is people following way too close and not paying attention to what's going on in front of them.
as pctg 141 stated, It is important to let the families know first and foremost, while we didn't know them, that we wish a full recovery for the injured and condolances to the family of the Michigan man. No vacation should result in such tragedy for a family. Condolances to all family and friends from a stranger in California.
zvatsky, you, the family and friends have my respect and concern. From your posts, he sounded like a really good guy, I share in your sadness.
sevenhills and sigtwenty--- GET A LIFE and read before you post...A Dodge Stratus is not a truck and yes,, cabbies are the scum of the earth... They drive cabs like they are in rental cars....
Prayers to the man and his family...
The man from Michigan was a teaching colleague of mine a few years back at Howell High School in SE Lower Michigan, about 60 miles outside Detroit. My own children had him as a social studies teacher. John made kids think about so many things that they took for granted.
It was a genuine shock to hear of his passing. May God rest his soul.
The man from Michigan was my Uncle whom I loved very much. I am disgusted in some of the comments I have read. LOL was in one of them. What is there to laugh about when someone dies. Think before you post or dont post at all. Anyway, I will miss him very much. He was loved by many and for good reason. If there is something wrong with that strech of road, I hope they fix it so others do not have to experience the loss that I am.
asleepatdawheel; you are a dope.
Life can seem butual in Las Vegas with so many beasts roaming around.
Ever since they change the exit lanes at North bound Sahara there has been accidents everyday. There has to be a hard look at the traffic pattern at that exit.The other thing is the drivers in Vegas are so rude they won't let anyone in a lane. They speed up when they see you have your turn single on. A little consideration and slowing down for other drivers will go a long way in lowering the accidents rate here in Vegas.
My prayers go out to the familly. I did consultant work for Fowlerville Ford. While spending my time there I met a lot of great people.
Asleepatthewheel, your screen name says it all.
Why you picking on the taxi driver? He was rear-ended!
To the driver and other passengers, my prayers to you too
Since adding the express lanes, there has been a big increase in accidents too. Little time to get over to exit Sahara after leaving the express lane. Since they put them up, I think they should take them down. It's not a good set up
anthonyjoevegas - you are part of the horrible vegas driver problem if you are trying to exit on sahara from the express lanes....they clearly are intended to be a way to bypass all exits from russell to sahara, which means you should not be causing accidents trying to exit on sahara at the last minute from 5 lanes over at 65mph+! They should be used as intended and the set up would be alot safer, and if you need to exit at sahara, that means stay in the 3 normal lanes of traffic to the right, even if it takes you a couple minutes longer
About 20 years ago I was with a pair of NDOT accident investigators assigned to review the condition of I-15 at an accident scene south of town. We had met downtown less than 100 yards from the freeway entrance. Use I-15, a straight shot out there? No way. Too dangerous, they said. I readily agreed. We used all surface streets. These were the guys who knew.
I couldn't tell you the condition of that roadway today. I haven't used it for over 20 years.
John Meredith was one of the most impacting teachers I remember during my years at Howell High school. I'm saddening to hear about this tragedy and will never forget the jokes and stories he shared. Whenever I see an old Paul Newman movie I always remember how much Mr.Meredith used to admire this actor. Its been about 13 years since I last was in his class.
RIP Mr.Meredith
Specvegas,
You are both wrong and right. Exiting Shara from express lane is not safe and a person should use the local lanes. However, due to the amount of tourist visiting town and going N on 15 see express lane, next exit Sahara. I believe a lot of drivers, not knowing you have to cross all those lanes to really exit Sahara, are going to take the express lane. The express lane should by-pass charleston. Do not comment on my driving, you never drove with me. I was stating my opinion that the express lanes, right now, are partly a reason for the accidents.
this is such a tragedy RIP Mr. Meredith. i was wondering if anyone knows where and when his funeral will be held at?
The man who was killed was also my uncle. I realize the world is full of spineless jerks who are quick to make jokes when they are protected behind the anonymity of their internet IDs. Thus, I am not offended by the insensitive comments left by such morons. I do take comfort in the supportive comments left by strangers and those who knew him. If there is an afterlife, I'm sure he is there content in the fact that he lived a good life, impacted so many young minds, and was enjoying himself in his last few hours on earth. I'm also sure he would take a little pleasure in knowing that if he had to go, at least he did so in a way that would cause as much annoyance as possible. So, with that I can smile just a little.
From the photo, I'm not certain that the deceased man would have survived if he wore a seatbelt. He was tragically in the wrong place at the wrong time. Crushing forces from behind aren't moderated/reduced by a seatbelt. And, if he was hit hard enough to force him forward, just that trauma would likely be enough to kill him before he contacted the front of the taxi. My condolences to his family.
For those of you who don't know John Meredith I could care less about your opinion.
He was my uncle, a mentor to me and my best friend all in one.
To say I will miss him is an understatement. I already do.
God Bless You JOHN.
Mr Meredith will be missed greatly by his students at Howell High School. He made learning a fun experience. He made you want to go to class. He will never be forgotten at Howell High!!! My thoughts and prayers go out to his family. He was a good man and loved very much.
Mr Meredith will be missed by his students at Howell High School. He made you want to go to class.My thoughts and prayers go out to his family and we are all in shock here in Howell. Anyone with info on the Funeral, please email me wishingwell1@gmail.com
Brian Kelly
Everyone is entitled to their opinions about this crash. Fact: adults are not required to wear a seatbelt in the backseat of a car and more often than not people decline to wear seatbelts in taxis. The man killed in the crash was a teacher of mine. He was bright, witty, and made learning a blast. To those of you that are family members you are in my thoughts and prayers and try to ignore the comment of those who never knew him. I will always remember him and instead of focusing on what kind of car the taxi was or what kind of fuel it held we should remember that it is a tragedy that a man that was only 62 ( and from what I remember was always full of life) and probably had many more years ahead and has a family that loves him and will dearly miss him has died. This is a tragedy.
As a former student of Mr. Meredith's, I'd like to think that he'd be chuckling while reading these silly arguments. He was a good teacher who actively engaged all of his students in discussion. It's sad that more kids will not have the same experience.
Condolenced to the family and friends of Mr. Meredith.
Please do your best to ignore the insensitive comments left here. They are not a true reflection of how many of us residents of Las Vegas feel about this tragedy.