Crash linked to stolen pickup slows I-15, Strip traffic for hours
A six-car crash linked to a stolen pickup stalled traffic for nearly nine hours Tuesday on the Strip and Interstate 15.
Police said a white Ford F-150, which had just been stolen was northbound on Las Vegas Boulevard at Flamingo Road about 9 a.m. when the driver made a U-turn and struck a sedan. The car then hit a Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada bus.
The F-150 driver then drove the wrong way in westbound lanes of Flamingo and hit three other vehicles, police said. The pickup driver was stopped by an off-duty Metro officer while authorities arrived.
Metro later arrested the man who was driving the F-150, according to agency spokesman Officer Jesse Roybal. It wasn’t immediately clear what charges he might face.
The driver of the pickup was not trying to get away from anybody, Roybal said. The F-150 was stolen on Harmon Avenue near Las Vegas Boulevard, about a half-mile from the crash.
Some involved in the crash were taken to University Medical Center, Roybal said. It wasn’t immediately clear how many or in what condition.
The crash led authorities to close the southbound I-15 ramp onto Flamingo plus the section of the northbound exit that lets traffic head east on Flamingo. It reopened around noon.
Review-Journal photographer Chase Stevens and reporter Wesley Juhl contributed to this story.
Contact Ricardo Torres at rtorres@reviewjournal.com and 702-383-0381. Find him on Twitter: @rickytwrites
