IN BRIEF

TWO OTHERS SERIOUSLY HURT

Driver dead at scene after vehicles collide

A driver who wasn't wearing a seat belt was killed Sunday morning in a collision on Spring Mountain Road near Tenaya Way, Las Vegas police said.

The driver, whose name was withheld by police, was eastbound on Spring Mountain Road in a 2002 Toyota Camry and drove into oncoming traffic about 4:30 a.m., police said.

The Camry struck a 2006 Nissan Xterra that was westbound on Spring Mountain, police said. The driver of the Camry was ejected and pronounced dead at the scene.

Gregory Gayhart, the 31-year-old Las Vegas driver of the Xterra, was taken to University Medical Center with serious injuries.

Police cited Gayhart for misdemeanor driving under the influence involving an accident.

The 33-year-old passenger of the Xterra, Las Vegas resident Sean Christie, was also taken to UMC with serious injuries.

WOUNDED MAN HOSPITALIZED

Man fleeing shooting is hit by vehicle, dies

A 29-year-old man died after he was struck by a vehicle while fleeing from the scene of his shootout with another man Saturday night, Las Vegas police said.

About 8:45 p.m., Porter Payne of Compton, Calif., exchanged gunfire with a man in the parking lot of a convenience store at Arby Avenue and Durango Drive, police said. Payne shot the other man several times, and the other man shot Payne in the arm, police said.

Payne then ran across Arby and was struck by a 1996 Chevrolet Tahoe driven by 18-year-old Meagan Morley of Las Vegas, police said.

Payne was taken to University Medical Center, where he died.

The man Payne shot remained in critical condition at UMC on Sunday, police said. His name, age and hometown were not released.

IMPROPER TRASH DISPOSAL

Neighborhood blamed for bear being killed

Residents who improperly dispose of trash are to blame for the fatal shooting of a bear by authorities last week at Lake Tahoe, a Nevada Department of Wildlife official said.

The 660-pound animal was shot after it wandered Thursday into an Incline Village home through an open window and lunged at a Washoe County sheriff's deputy.

"It may not have been the people whose house it entered, but the neighborhood is definitely to blame. This bear was getting into trash in the Incline area for at least the last two years," NDOW biologist Carl Lackey told the North Lake Tahoe Bonanza.

"Our policy is if the bear is just getting into trash then we do education on the bear and the people, but once it breaks into homes it must be euthanized," he added.

Improper disposal of trash continues to be a problem in Incline Village, despite repeated attempts to educate the public about steps that can be taken to reduce human food sources for bears, officials said.