By Kelsey Givens
Two people were sent to the hospital after a Chevy Blazer rolled over on State Route 160 Wednesday afternoon when the driver reportedly tried to pass two vehicles in a no passing zone.
Pahrump Valley Fire Rescue Services, Nye County Sheriff’s deputies and Nevada Highway Patrol all responded to the scene at the intersection of State Route 160 and Simkins Road around 12:30 p.m. for a two-vehicle accident with a rollover.
The driver of a PT Cruiser was reportedly stopped, waiting for traffic to clear to make a left turn onto Simkins Road when the driver of a red Chevy Blazer became impatient, and pulled out into the southbound lane to attempt to pass her and another vehicle waiting behind her.
Traffic cleared, and as Hastings went to turn, the SUV slammed into the front bumper of her PT Cruiser, causing the Blazer to roll twice.
“Both vehicles were actually traveling northbound and there was a vehicle stopped waiting for traffic to come by so it could make a left-hand turn,” NHP Trooper Raymond Hubbs said. “And then the second vehicle involved in the crash actually got impatient from waiting for that vehicle to turn left and decided to jump out and pass in a no passing zone to pass the two vehicles.
“Well, the vehicle that was turning left then proceeded to turn left and we had a crash.”
Both the driver and passenger traveling in the SUV were able to get out of their vehicle before help arrived. Both were later transported from the scene for further care.
The driver was taken by ambulance to the Calvada Aeropark, just next to the accident scene, before being flown by Mercy Air to University Medical Center in Las Vegas.
The passenger was then taken by ambulance to Desert View Hospital for treatment of what Hubbs deemed “not-so-severe injuries.”
The driver of the PT Cruiser, Nelda Hastings, was not injured in the crash.
Debris from both vehicles littered the roadway after the collision, as the intersection was shut down and authorities documented the scene.
The SUV’s windshield was cracked and slightly smashed in, while the top, doors and hood, appeared dented by the force with which the vehicle had rolled.
The PT Cruiser suffered slightly less damage, though needed to be towed from the scene as the entire front bumper had been ripped from the vehicle.
Hastings said she was on her way to take her husband to dialysis when the crash occurred.
She said the SUV was traveling fast enough that when it struck her, it rolled twice before coming to a stop.
“It wasn’t my fault, I had my signal on to turn, and this driver went around me and cut me off and tore up the car,” she said.
The condition of the SUV’s driver and passenger were unknown at the time of the incident.
Hubbs said at the very minimum he would be issuing a citation to the driver of the SUV for passing in a no passing zone.
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- Horace Langford Jr. / Pahrump Valley Times – One person was helicoptered to a Las Vegas hospital and another was treated locally after an SUV rolled over near Simkins Road and State Route 160 on Wednesday. The SUV attempted to pass two cars along the highway, one of which was attempting to turn left. Instead the SUV hit that car and rolled.
All other arguments aside… rights and wrongs set on the sidewalk to rest, I was driving back to work while the emergency services vehicles were trying to respond to this near tragedy. It amazed me, although it did not surprise me, that rarely did any of the drivers on 160, northbound or southbound, willingly and without hesitation pull to the shoulder to let them pass. Had this truly ended in tragedy how many seconds of that precious golden hour would have been lost because people didn’t think they needed to pull over? How many more drops of blood would have been spilled and fueled the arguments above because “they weren’t in my lane” or whatever reason comes to mind. 160 is not a divided highway. You must pull to the shoulder for emergency vehicles. What harm is it in waiting for help to go to the needed? Will you be late for work? Do you work for such a tyrant that those few minutes cannot be excused for this emergency? Are you so eager to hurry to your destination that you can’t be bothered to pull over so that the fire trucks nearly strike vehicles trying to pass me on the shoulder in oncoming traffic.
THEY NEED TO HAVE LAW ENFORCEMENT FOLLOW THE RESCUE RESPONSE TICKET ANY ONE WHO DOES NOT PULL OVER. THIS IS DONE IN MANY PLACES. AFTER PEOPLE GET A BIG TICKET THEY MAY LEARN.IT IS A SHAME THIS TOOK PLACE SOME ONE IN A HURRY. WERE DID THAT GET THEM? NOT TO MENTION THE AFTER MATH RESULTS OF THIS.
what is wrong here is any impatient driver who decides to pass stopped cars by veering to the left in a 65mph zone into the opposite lane with oncoming traffic just to save a few seconds of time. People need to think of WHY the cars have stopped, there is ALWAYS a reason! In this case it was someone making a left turn and legally had thier turn signal on. The person behind them had the sense to wait. However a left turn is NOT always the reason a car will be stopped on a highway (or any road) they could have been having a medical episode, there could have been engine trouble, person or animal in the road etc. NEVER try to go around a stopped car since an accident is what happens about 90% of the time when you do. Figure out why they are stopped first before proceeding, dont just speed around them without thinking.
That area is know for wild burros crossing also. Two have been killed very close to that spot in the last month 1/2.