Pedestrian death leads to another accident

Metro traffic officers found themselves investigating two accidents at the same spot Sunday night when rubberneckers trying to get a glimpse of an accident that killed a pedestrian were involved in a three-car crash.

At about 8:45 p.m. a jaywalker was hit by a pickup in the westbound lanes of Flamingo Road about 250 feet west of the crosswalks at Spencer Street, Sgt. Curt Albert said.

The man, believed to be around 40 years old, appeared to be trying to cross from the south side of Flamingo to the north when he stepped in front of the oncoming pickup. The accident closed westbound Flamingo from Spencer to about 300 feet west of the intersection, drawing looks from drivers headed east on Flamingo.

This rubbernecking resulted in a three-car accident on eastbound Flamingo about an hour after the first accident.

"I saw the driver of the first car looking over here as he went by," Albert said. "I don't know how to explain the phenomenon of rubbernecking.

"It doesn't happen a lot, but it does happen. I just don't understand why people do it."

The accident left two of the three drivers complaining of back and neck pain.

One of the cars in the accident, a Jeep, left the scene, compounding the accident by making it a hit-and-run, police said. They were unable to find the driver.

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