Traffic, lake deaths mar weekend

The long Labor Day weekend finished with these unfortunate statistics: Five people were killed, including a 4-year-old boy, in traffic collisions, one man drowned in Lake Mead and another man remains missing and presumed drowned in Lake Mohave.

The fatalities during the three-day weekend marked an increase from last year, which saw only two fatalities.

On Monday, a 42-year-old man, 29-year-old man, 22-year-old woman and a 4-year-old boy were killed in separate traffic accidents, authorities said. A California man drowned on Sunday in Lake Mead and another California man was missing in Lake Mohave and presumed drowned on Saturday, officials said.

The Nevada Highway Patrol closed northbound Interstate 15 about 50 miles north of Las Vegas after the fatal collision involving the 4-year-old Monday afternoon.

One vehicle swerved to avoid a blue Dodge Caravan van travelling northbound Interstate 15 south of exit 92, about 30 miles south of Mesquite, but a tractor-trailer hauling cars struck the van about 3:30 p.m., said Trooper Kevin Honea, a Highway Patrol spokesman.

The child died at the scene of the crash despite rescue efforts, Honea said. Four other people were taken to University Medical Center, one of them in critical condition, he said.

The Clark County Coroner's office had no information on the 4-year-old boy.

Northbound Interstate 15 was closed to traffic until shortly before 5 p.m. when one lane reopened, Honea said.

The Highway Patrol was interviewing witnesses late Monday, Honea said.

Honea this morning could not comment on how this year's Labor Day weekend stacked up to previous years. But according to news reports, NHP previously reported that no one was killed along Interstate 15.

A 42-year-old Las Vegas resident, Judith Gottlieb, died in a three-vehicle crash at Valley View Boulevard north of Twain Avenue, Metro Police said Monday.

The accident was just one of three fatal vehicle collisions on Monday night, said Metro Sgt. Tracy McDonald, supervisor of the fatal detail.

He said there was only one fatal traffic accident during the three-day Labor Day weekend last year.

"Holidays are hit and miss," he said, adding that the numbers of fatalities differs from year to year.

"You prepare for the worst, and sometimes you don't see anything," he said.

McDonald said, however, that Metro has been seeing more and more people leaving town during the long holiday weekend, and that local residents account for about 90 percent of accidents.

The crash occurred at 4:45 p.m. Monday when a 1992 Ford Explorer driven by 28-year-old Steven Bridges of Las Vegas crossed the center turn lane going southbound on Valley View, striking the left side of a 1996 Jeep Cherokee driven by 52-year-old Zenaida Mendoza of Las Vegas, who was not injured.

The Ford then struck the left side of a 2001 Pontiac Grand Am, whose driver, Gottlieb, was pronounced dead at the scene, police said.

A passenger in the Pontiac, 58-year-old Anita Ramos, was not injured.

No charges have been filed.

About half an hour later, on Las Vegas Boulevard south of Lamb Boulevard, 22-year-old Cassie Lee Reynolds-Skougard and David P. Bieschke, 29, were killed when Reynolds-Skougard allegedly lost control of the 1995 Ford Mustang she was driving and collided with a 1997 Ford Explorer driven by Dennis Santiago, 31, Metro reported.

Bieschke was pronounced dead at the scene and Reynolds-Skougard died at UMC shortly after arrival, Metro reported.

The fatalities marked the 115th and 116th fatalities in Metro's jurisdiction this year.

At Lake Mead, a 30-year-old man from Inglewood, Calif., drowned about 30 feet from the shore near Thirty-Three Hole, located about eight miles from Boulder Beach, said Kay Rhode, spokeswoman for the National Park Service.

Roxanne Dey, spokeswoman for the National Park Service, said that one person drowned during the holiday weekend last year.

Although she said exact numbers of holiday visitors was not available, she received reports that it didn't appear that Lake Mead would see a huge spike in visitors.

She said that 161,546 people visited Lake Mead during the Labor Day weekend last year, and 102,856 visited it in 2003.

By comparison, 221,780 people visited Lake Mead on Memorial Day this year, she said.

Park Service rangers responded to the area about 1:40 p.m. on Sunday where the California man had been swimming with three friends when he went under water and did not come back up, Rhode said.

Rangers performed CPR on the man and he was airlifted to University Medical Center by Mercy Air where he was pronounced dead at 3:10 p.m., Rhode said.

His identity was not available Monday, Rhode said. The coroner's office is expected to determine the exact cause of death, she said.

The Clark County Coroner's office was waiting until family members were informed of the death before releasing the man's name, it said this morning.

This was the 18th death at Lake Mead National Recreation Area this year and the sixth drowning, Rhode said.

On Saturday a 64-year-old man from Foster City, Calif., was reported missing and presumed drowned after an accident about 11 a.m., Rhode said. The man was swimming out to a buoy near river mile 35, just north of Aztec Wash on the Nevada side of Lake Mohave, she said.

Divers began searching for the missing man at noon on Saturday and continued searching all afternoon and Sunday, but did not find the man, she said.

The man might have been carried by the current of the Colorado River. The area was silty, which made visibility low in the area, Rhode said.

A 22-year-old motorcyclist, Ruben Umana Jr., of Las Vegas, was in critical condition after a crash about 2 a.m. Monday involving high speed and possible alcohol consumption, Metro Police said.

The motorcyclist was traveling south on Rollingwood Drive when he skidded 228 feet before striking a curb at Reno Avenue. He was thrown from the 2005 Suzuki R-GSX. He received life-threatening injuries, police said.

A North Las Vegas firefighter collecting for the annual Muscular Dystrophy Association Boot Drive was struck by a car Chevrolet El Camino driven by 35-year-old Rudy Montenegro about 4:30 p.m. Friday, North Las Vegas Police said.

The crash occurred at Cheyenne Avenue and Losee Road, where witnesses, including an off-duty security officer, stopped the driver until police arrived.

The firefighter, Rafael Gomez, 33, was taken to University Medical Center Trauma Center where his injuries did not appear to be life-threatening, police said.

Police arrested Rudy Montenegro, 35, on DUI charges causing substantial bodily harm, reckless driving causing substantial bodily harm, expired driver's license, lack of insurance and expired registration.

On Saturday night two people suffered smoke inhalation and were treated and released after a minor two-alarm fire caused $3,000 in damage at the Stratosphere about 7:30 Saturday night.

The fire occurred outside on the roof of one of the hotel's utility buildings, but black smoke seeped into the sixth and seventh floors of the hotel, said Tim Szymanski of Las Vegas Fire & Rescue.

Some people were evacuated from the hotel for a short time, but most were told to stay inside their rooms until firefighters cleared the smoke, Szymanski said.

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