2 killed in US 95 crash involving tire in Las Vegas

Two people were killed Saturday night after a tire fell off one vehicle and hit another on U.S. Highway 95 in the central Las Vegas Valley, according to the Nevada Highway Patrol.

The crash happened about 7:40 p.m. on U.S. 95 north of the Charleston Boulevard onramp, trooper Travis Smaka said.

A red Chevrolet Tahoe was traveling south when its left rear tire fell off and entered the northbound travel lanes, he said. The tire hit the front windshield of a northbound gray Honda CRV, causing part of the roof to collapse into the car.

Smaka said all three people inside the Honda were hospitalized at University Medical Center, where the front-seat passenger, a 24-year-old woman, and a rear-seat passenger, a 15-year-old boy, died. The driver was hospitalized as a precaution.

The tire appeared intact, Smaka said.

“It’s pretty baffling,” Smaka said.

The tire kept moving until an off-duty Metro officer in the area grabbed the tire before it could hit another vehicle, he said.

The investigation into the crash is ongoing, he said, but there appears to have been an equipment malfunction with the tire.

The Clark County coroner’s office will release the identities of the deceased once their family has been notified.

Contact Mike Shoro at mshoro@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5290. Follow @mike_shoro on Twitter.