Motorcyclist who died in crash off I-15 overpass identified

By Mary Manning

Wednesday, Sept. 3, 2008 | 3:39 p.m.

A motorcyclist who died Tuesday after crashing on an Interstate 15 overpass and falling about 50 feet to the freeway below has been identified as 25-year-old Joseph Kongnalinh of Las Vegas, the Clark County coroner's office said.

The cause of death was blunt-force trauma after the motorcycle crash, the coroner said.

The man died of his injuries after the 9 a.m. Tuesday crash that flung him off the Tropicana Avenue flyover near the Las Vegas Strip and into southbound traffic on the interstate, Nevada Highway Patrol Trooper Kevin Honea said.

Henderson police earlier had chased the 2001 Yamaha motorcycle on the 215 Beltway to Jones Boulevard, but officers lost sight of it before it reached Tropicana Avenue heading east toward the Las Vegas Strip. Officers chased the motorcycle after a man dressed in a black motorcycle jacket displayed a handgun and took an alcoholic drink from a Chevron station, 3061 St. Rose Parkway, at about 8:30 a.m. Tuesday.

At the time of the crash there were no police or highway patrol units pursuing the man, Honea said.

Police found the man's helmet and motorcycle jacket after an apparent minor crash near Jones and Tropicana, Honea said. Henderson police said they also found a handgun there.

Police believe the helmet-less motorcycle rider crashed moments later, hitting a cement retaining wall on the overpass and plummeting to the freeway's shoulder. He later died at University Medical Center.

Southbound lanes of Interstate 15 were closed for about two hours, but reopened at about 11 a.m. Tuesday, Honea said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.