Truck crushes auto on Interstate 15

Two separate traffic accidents sent five victims to the hospital this morning and snarled the morning commute for hours.

A man was trapped in a pickup truck under a Citizens Area Transit bus on Sahara Avenue just east of Rainbow Boulevard shortly before 9:30 a.m. Heavy rescue equipment was called in to free the man, who was taken to University Medical Center in critical condition, according to a Las Vegas Fire Department spokesman.

Two passengers in the CAT bus were also taken to area hospitals with minor injuries. The cause of the accident was unknown.

Earlier this morning a truck carrying powdered stucco mortar overturned on Interstate 15, pinning two people inside a car.

Just before 6:45 a.m. the truck was heading south on Interstate 15 near the Sahara Avenue exit when the driver, Aaron Hughs, 25, of Las Vegas, veered toward the median in an attempt to avoid traffic slowing for another accident ahead, Nevada Highway Patrol Trooper Scott Flabi said.

The truck struck the median, veered back into southbound traffic and overturned, crushing a Dodge Colt in the fast lane and striking at least one other vehicle, Flabi said.

Three fire engines, three rescue crews and Nevada Highway Patrol officers arrived to find two boys, ages 17 and 15, pinned in the Colt and trying to remain calm by reading their Bibles, Las Vegas Fire Department spokesman Tim Szymanski said.

The truck had crushed part of the Colt's roof to the level of the console, but the area directly around the teens remained protected, Szymanski said.

"Another foot to the left or the right and they would have been in trouble," he said. The boys were able to crawl out of the car with help from rescue crews.

The two boys were taken to UMC where the 17-year-old driver was treated and released and the 15-year-old passenger was being treated for what were believed to be minor injuries, a hospital spokeswoman said.

A crane was called in to right the truck, and two lanes remained closed while state Department of Transportation crews cleaned up material spilled from the truck.

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