IN BRIEF

INTERSTATE 15 ROLLOVER

Moapa man identified as victim of fatal crash

The man who was killed Wednesday evening when his 1999 Mazda pickup overturned in the median of Interstate 15 north of Las Vegas was Jose Luis Sosa-Quintana, authorities said Thursday.

Investigators believe the tread separated from his right rear tire causing him to loose control of the southbound vehicle around 5:20 p.m., said Kevin Honea, spokesman for the Nevada Highway Patrol.

Sosa-Quintana, 47, of Moapa was not wearing a seat belt when he crashed a few miles south of his hometown, Honea said.

Sixty percent of all fatal crashes investigated by the Highway Patrol Southern Command have involved a person not wearing a seat belt, said Honea. Sosa-Quintana's death was the 77th highway fatality investigated by the Highway Patrol Southern Command this year. The division had investigated 90 traffic deaths during the same period of last year, Honea said.

PUBLIC SAFETY MEASURE

Seniors offered quick release system for bars

A new program will allow elderly people to replace security bars covering their windows with new quick release systems.

Many seniors block their windows with safety bars to keep thieves out, but that can be deadly in the event of a fire, said Tim Szymanski, spokesman for the Las Vegas Fire Department.

Often times people cover windows with bars that are nailed or welded down.

"What people don't understand is that if you make it impossible to get in a house, then you make it impossible to escape," he said. "We have no tool on our truck that can take bars off a window in seconds."

Papa John's Risk Services, a subsidiary of the pizza chain, and the Fireman's Fund Insurance Co. gave the Fire Department a $10,000 grant to launch the initiative. Installing the system costs about $300 per window, Szymanski said, and a limited number of applicants will be selected.

Only senior citizens on a limited or fixed income that own a home in the city of Las Vegas are eligible, he said. The Fire Department will use a lottery system to select recipients, Szymanski said.

For more information, call 229-0146 or go online at www.lvfire.org.

LAKE HAVASU CITY, ARIZONA

Man taken into custody in stabbing death

A six-year association between two men took a deadly turn when one was slain and the other jailed Thursday in Lake Havasu City, Ariz.

City spokesman Charlie Cassens said police learned of the homicide after responding to a neighborhood disturbance. Cassens said officers found a partially clothed Bryan Mcbean trying to stop motorists. He said Mcbean, 31, of Desert Hills was initially arrested for assault after scuffling with police.

Neighbors said Mcbean had been banging on doors and tossing rocks along the block before officers arrived. Investigators spotted a front door ajar and a body just inside a nearby home.

Cassens said weapons were recovered inside and it appeared that Todd Chapman, 37, had been beaten and stabbed in his home. He said Mcbean was taken to the hospital for a checkup under suspicion he was under the influence of drugs.

Cassens said he was later booked into jail on murder and assault charges after he confessed to killing Chapman after an argument.