LAS VEGAS, NEVADA LAWYER HOWARD ROITMAN

VEGAS MAN IDENTIFIED IN FATAL BIG-RIG CRASH, BOZE & SEAT BELT FALURE INVOLVED

VEGAS MAN IDENTIFIED IN FATAL BIG-RIG CRASH

A Las Vegas, Nevada man, was  killed when he was ejected from his vehicle in a crash with two tractor-trailers was identified .

Thrown from his westbound 1981 Ford Granada just before 2:30 p.m. Tuesday after he crossed the center divider ``He crossed the center line for unknown reasons,'' an NHP Officer said. ``There is a possibility that alcohol may have been involved.''

The victims car veered into the eastbound lane and hit the left rear tire of a big rig. Out of control, the car then hit another tractor-trailer, rupturing the rig's gas tank.

Officials said the victim was wearing a lap belt but not a shoulder harness. ``He wasn't wearing it properly,'' said the trooper. ``For some reason he was ejected.''

Fatality Reduction by Safety Belts For Front-Seat Occupants of Cars And Light Trucks

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimated in 1984 that manual 3-point safety belts reduce the fatality risk of front-seat occupants of passenger cars by 45 percent relative to the unrestrained occupant. After 1985, Study's showed the belt use of fatally injured people in  crashes to belt use observed on the road in State and national surveys was even better then previously reported. The methods reconfirm the agency's earlier estimates of fatality reduction by manual 3-point belts: 45 percent in passenger cars and 60 percent in light trucks. Furthermore, the abundant 1986-99 FARS data shows just how effective  belt effectiveness is by crash type, occupant age and gender, belt type,  & vehicle type.

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LAS VEGAS FAMILY KILLED IN CRASH

 CALTRANS AGREES TO PAYOUT T $3 MILLION PACT RESULTS FROM FATAL CRASH.

Caltrans has agreed to pay $3 million to three families involved in a 1995 crash that killed three people and injured eight.

The plaintiffs claimed that Caltrans had known previously that the ``twin bridges'' section of Highway 138 an excessive fatality and injury crash rate but did nothing. The settlement was reached March 5 during a conference in Court, according to court records.

The attorney for the California Department of Transportation declined to comment except to say the settlement is pending. ``Our office policy is not to make any comment regarding cases,'' said the attorney .

$25 million in damages, had been sought by the victims families. Thirteen adults and children from the three families were in a 1981 Chevrolet covered pickup truck with a camper shell, returning from Las Vegas on May 15, 1995, when an approaching motorist crossed the double-yellow line and hit them head on.

In the truck were six adults and seven children ranging in age from 18 months to 12 years. The families had gone to Las Vegas to celebrate the first communion of a cousin.

Four people were in the cab and nine in the back when their Chevy pickup collided in the, unlighted twin bridges area, named for the two bridges over the Big Rock Wash.

The highway has been a danger for years, but motorists frequently pass anyway.

The last fatal collision there was in November 2000,.Caltrans was sued that same year as a result of a fatal 1999 crash. Attorney for the families, previously said the thing that makes the bridges dangerous is the sudden narrowing of the road and lack of visibility. ``Caltrans has known about this particular stretch for more than a decade and ... (did) nothing about it.''  was the allegation.

A Caltrans report covering the period from October 1986 through September 1989 shows the fatality and injury crash rate was 2 1/2 times the projected rate for similar highways.  There were 13 collisions, 12 as a result of motorists passing other cars by driving to the left of the double yellow lines.  Caltrans' says the center line was striped in both directions for a distance that exceeded the length required, and that there were Do Not Pass and Narrow Bridge signs in place.

A later Caltrans report covering the period from January 1989 through December 1991 said the fatality and injury crash rate was more than six times the expected rate.   The second report said there were 10 crashes between May 1989 and October 1991: three caused by excessive speed and drivers ignoring the double solid yellow lines, six because of unsafe passing movement, and one from a vehicle carrying lumber that protruded from the side.