Troopers from the Nevada Highway Patrol responded to and investigated 92 motor vehicle crashes in northern Nevada between 10:00 am yesterday through 6:00 o’clock this morning. 33 crashes involved some sort of injuries while the remaining 59 were property damage only collisions. Most of the crash activity was in the greater Reno-Sparks area with only a handful of crashes reported in the rural parts of northern Nevada. The largest volume of calls for service took place late last night and early this morning.
As for the injury crashes outside of the Reno-Sparks area during that timeframe, three were in the Carson City area, and one each in the Fernley and Fallon districts, while the property damage crashes yielded three in Fernley, one in Carson City and two near Lake Tahoe.
The accident with the most serious injuries happened overnight in Reno on Interstate 80 near the E. 4th Street (Victorian Avenue) interchange that involved three vehicles. At around 4:00 am, the driver of a white Dodge pickup was traveling east on the freeway when he lost traction and spun out which left his vehicle stopped and facing the wrong way. Moments later his vehicle was struck by an approaching eastbound Toyota pickup which caused both vehicles to become disabled blocking at least one travel lane of Interstate 80. Both drivers were out of their vehicles when a third vehicle, described as a Chevrolet pickup, approached the crash scene and the driver could not slow his vehicle in time to avoid a collision. The Chevy pickup stuck the motorist who had been driving the Dodge and his leg was pinned against the center concrete barrier. That event resulted in a very serious injury to his leg and he was transported to Renown Regional Medical Center by REMSA personnel. The driver of the Toyota sustained minor injuries in the initial event and he too was transported to Renown while the driver of the Chevy escaped injury.
In addition to the high number of crashes investigated, approximately 54 other calls for service were handled in that timeframe. Those calls involved responding to vehicles that had spun out or slid off the roadway or whose driver’s needed assistance with some sort of vehicle mechanical failure.
As a safety reminder to all motorists when driving conditions are more challenging due to wet, icy, or snow covered roadways; please increase your following distance with other vehicles, reduce the speed of your vehicle to minimize an unplanned event, and plan on allowing more time to get to your destination. Speed too fast for conditions is the most common denominator in the calls for service related to crashes and spin outs when roads are slick. Please expect your commute to take longer and drive extra cautiously when these conditions are present.