Man dies after car hits power-line pole in northwest valley
A 60-year-old man died Wednesday evening after the van he was driving slammed into a northwest valley power-line pole.
The wreck happened at 5:50 p.m., and the pole he hit was in front of the Rainbow Library, on Buffalo Drive near the Cheyenne Avenue intersection. The 2006 Dodge Caravan’s driver was transported to the nearby Mountain View hospital, where he died.
But the crash might not have killed him. Investigators pointed to a possible medical episode just before the wreck, a statement from the Metropolitan Police Department said.
A passenger, Sandra Bradway, 59, suffered no injuries, and the van had only minor damage from the wreck.
Before the crash, the van was headed east on Cheyenne toward U.S. Highway 95. It veered right into oncoming traffic on Buffalo "for unknown reasons," the statement said. The van continued south in the street's northbound lanes briefly before hopping the curb in front of the library and hitting the pole.
The coroner's office will determine an official cause and manner of death, and when his family is notified, the office will release his name.
The intersection was shut down for a few hours Wednesday while Metro investigated. As traffic was being diverted, another car slammed into the back of a truck near the intersection just before 7 p.m., but Metro Lt. Harry Demetrus said it did "not appear fatal and is unrelated."
Contact Rachel Crosby at rcrosby@reviewjournal.com or at 702-387-5290. Find her on Twitter: @rachelacrosby
