Las Vegas Sun

March 19, 2024

Patrol: 2 hurt, man faces DUI count after wrong-way freeway crash

Lawrence Sutton

Lawrence Sutton

Seat belts are being credited with averting possible major injuries in a five-vehicle, wrong-way crash on Interstate 15 this morning, according to the Nevada Highway Patrol.

The wrong-way driver, Lawrence Sutton, 38, was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence, officials said. Two people were hospitalized with minor injuries.

Emergency dispatchers began receiving calls about 5:20 a.m. of a wrong-way driver in the northbound lanes of I-15, officials said. The crash occurred about five minutes later near Lamb Boulevard, the patrol said.

Sutton, a Las Vegas resident, was headed the wrong way in a 2010 Ford Mustang when he hit a Ford F-150, officials said. That caused a GMC Sierra to hit a third pickup truck, which then ran into a Nissan Altima, officials said.

The driver of the third pickup truck, which was only described as green, left the scene, officials said.

The drivers of the F-150 and the Altima suffered superficial injuries, officials said.

Sutton was booked at the Clark County Detention Center on one count each of driving under the influence and driving the wrong way on a one-way road, officials said.

“Two lessons were learned in this crash: first, never get behind the wheel if you’re impaired, and two is to always wear your seat belt. Every person involved in this morning’s crash was wearing a seat belt,” a patrol news release stated.

Northbound I-15 was shut down for about an hour, according to the Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada.