Crash near Red Rock Canyon leaves 2 dead, 1 critical

Two people died and another person was critically injured after a crash Sunday morning at Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area, according to the Nevada Highway Patrol.

The Clark County coroner’s office identified a Las Vegas woman as one of the victims.

Huifang Liu, 58, died at the scene. Her cause and manner of death were pending Monday morning.

The crash happened just after 8:20 a.m. on Nevada Highway 159, near mile marker 11, when an eastbound silver Lexus tried to make a U-turn, trooper Travis Smaka said Sunday afternoon.

Mile marker 11 is just west of the entrance to the Red Rock Canyon Scenic Loop, according to a mile marker map distributed by the Nevada Department of Transportation.

The Lexus turned left in front of a silver Subaru traveling west on Highway 159. The Subaru slammed into the passenger side of the Lexus, causing it to overturn, Smaka said.

The woman driving the Lexus and a man who was a passenger in the car died at the scene, he said.

A woman who was a passenger in the Subaru was taken by helicopter to University Medical Center in critical condition, Smaka said. The man driving the Subaru was taken by ambulance to the same hospital with injuries that did not appear to be life-threatening, he said.

Both vehicles had two occupants, he said.

A bicyclist riding west on the right shoulder of Highway 159 was nearly hit by the rolling Lexus. The rider leaped from the bike, which continued forward.

“The Lexus actually landed on the bicycle,” Smaka said.

The bicyclist suffered minor injuries and was not hospitalized, he said.

Traffic in both directions on Highway 159 was closed for several hours.

Liu apparently was in the Lexus, as both the driver and passenger of that vehicle were pronounced dead at the scene, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported.