A series of motor vehicle collisions and fires kept Pahrump Valley Fire and Rescue Services quite busy in recent days.
On Wednesday morning, June 23, fire crews responded to a two-vehicle offset head-on collision along Homestead Road just before 8 a.m.
The crash created headaches for morning commuters as they were forced to take side streets to avoid the accident scene.
Fire crews and Nye County Sheriff’s Office deputies quickly responded to the scene where both directions of traffic on Homestead Road were completely shut down to motorists between Elderberry and Deerskin streets, as crews worked to investigate the crash.
The impact of the collision created a scattered debris field in the roadway, where a tire of one of the two pickup trucks involved sat in the turn lane at Elderberry Street.
No serious injuries were reported.
Accidental fire
Later on Wednesday, fire crews responded to a fire consisting of recyclable materials just adjacent to Walgreens at the intersection of Highway 160 and 372.
Fire Chief Scott Lewis said the incident was most likely accidental.
“Engine 1 found used cardboard that was set aside in preparation for recycling,” Lewis said. “The fire was held to the materials of origin. There was no extension, but it was wind-driven, so the crews had to dismantle the bundles, pulled the materials apart and extinguished the fire. It was most likely an accidental ignition source, possibly a homeless individual using it as a makeshift shelter, along with the improper disposal of smoking materials. There were no injuries.”
Rear-end crash
On Monday, June 21, Nye County Sheriff’s Office deputies and Pahrump Valley Fire and Rescue Services responded to a two-vehicle collision along the 800 block of West Basin Avenue just before 12:30 p.m.
The initial investigation revealed that the driver of a white Ford sedan whose airbag deployed upon impact, was traveling westbound on Basin when the vehicle rear-ended a blue Chevrolet pickup truck.
The driver of the sedan was transported to Desert View Hospital and is expected to recover.
Both west and eastbound traffic was shut down between Blagg Road and Linda Street while crews worked to clear the scene.
Two-vehicle collision
Two people were transported to Desert View Hospital following a two-vehicle collision at the intersection of Highways 160 and 372 at approximately 1 p.m., on Thursday, June 17.
The high-impact crash, according to NHP Trooper Justin Branske, occurred when one driver failed to yield at the flashing yellow arrow traffic light while trying to make a turn.
“The lights will be green, and then they’ll turn yellow flashing, which means whoever’s at that yellow flashing light has to yield for all oncoming traffic and once traffic is clear, you can proceed through the intersection,” he said.
Branske went on to say that some drivers get confused by the flashing yellow traffic signal which is the cause of many similar collisions at intersections with traffic lights.
“It’s very important that you make sure the intersection is clear,” he advised. “We get a lot of these crashes that happen because people think it’s a yellow flashing light and they can just go when they want. Unfortunately, that’s what causes these crashes, so we need to make sure that we’re waiting for all traffic to be clear while we’re yielding before we proceed through the intersection.”
Additionally, Branske noted that there were no signs of impairment on either driver, who both sustained minor injuries.
Contact reporter Selwyn Harris at sharris@pvtimes.com. On Twitter: @pvtimes