IN BRIEF

FATAL CRASH

32-year-old man dies after car hits light pole

A 32-year-old man died early Wednesday after he lost control of his vehicle and it struck a light pole near the Suncoast casino on South Rampart Boulevard, Las Vegas police said.

The crash occurred about 2 a.m. when the Las Vegas man, driving a 1965 Ford Mustang, turned north onto Rampart from the Suncoast, hit the curb and slid across three lanes of traffic before striking a light pole.

The man was taken to University Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead. He was not identified by Las Vegas police.

The crash, which is the 16th traffic-related fatality this year in the jurisdiction of the Metropolitan Police Department, is still under investigation.

CAUSE OF DEATH UNKNOWN

Woman found dead in downtown motel room

A woman whose death remains under investigation was found in a room at a Fremont Street Traveler's Inn Wednesday morning, Las Vegas police said.

Hotel officials found the woman around 11:15 a.m. and called police to the second-floor motel room at 2855 Fremont St. near Charleston Boulevard.

Las Vegas homicide Lt. Lew Roberts said there was no visible sign of trauma.

An official cause of death won't be known until autopsy results are returned.

REPLICA BURNED

Two California artists sue Nevada farmer

Two San Francisco artists are seeking nearly $1 million from a Nevada farmer for torching what was once an elaborate replica of a Spanish galleon that sailed the sandy seas of the Black Rock Desert during the annual Burning Man Festival.

The 40-foot replica of the 16th century vessel was owned by artist Simon Cheffins and mechanical engineer Gregory Jones.

Their lawsuit filed Monday in U.S. District Court in Reno seeks damages from Michael Stewart, owner of Empire and Orient farms in Gerlach, under The Visual Artists Rights Act of 1990.

But like any art, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. And after sitting for two years in the harsh Nevada desert, the once iconic ship was more a rusty eyesore than a crowned jewel, Stewart's lawyer Keegan Low said Wednesday.

Stewart considered the ship, which was built on the body of a school bus, to be "junk" and torched it when he acquired the property where it was stored, court documents show.

The suit alleges Stewart made no attempt to contact the owners about its removal.