Fatal crash ties up U.S. 95

A dramatic early-morning rescue today saw a motorist and his passenger pull a wrong-way driver from her burning van seconds after authorities said she fatally rammed into another driver on an east-west portion of U.S. 95 near Valley View Boulevard

The Nevada Highway Patrol said the van's driver was heading east in the middle westbound lane when she rammed head-on into a Mercedes 900, killing the driver. The van rolled to the center divider, where it came to a stop and burst into flames.

Tony Marchese, 28, of Las Vegas, and Chris Maurer, 27, of Detroit, Mich., narrowly avoided the 3:57 a.m. collision just west of the Valley View Boulevard overpass, popping two of their Pontiac's tires as they veered away and over the right shoulder's embankment.

But it took them only a split seconds to collect their wits. Leaping from their wrecked car, they focused first on the burning van.

Maurer said he wrenched the door open, grabbing the woman by her arm.

"I could feel glass on her arm going into my hands as I pulled her out," he said.

Maurer and Marchese pulled the woman to safety about 10 feet away as flames engulfed the van.

Marchese said he ran to the Mercedes to help the driver, but realized the man had died when he couldn't find a pulse.

Authorities have withheld the man's identity until relatives can be notified.

The van's driver also was not identified. She was taken by ambulance to University Medical Center and listed later in serious condition.

"We were behind the Mercedes before the accident, and we couldn't see its tail lights," Maurer said. "Then we saw the van come up and hit the Mercedes head-on."

Nevada Highway Patrol investigators had yet to determine why, and for how long, the woman was on the wrong side of the freeway. Sgt. Steve Cabrales said the accident remains under investigation.

Shattered glass and debris from the collision covered the freeway, which remained shut down to westbound traffic for several hours as authorities worked to clear away the wreckage.

Motorists were detoured single-file around the accident, slowing traffic to a crawl and backing up westbound commuters for miles as well as eastbound travelers stopping to take a look.

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