Three die in collision on U.S. 95

Three people were killed Wednesday afternoon in a collision on U.S. Highway 95 after a driver lost control of her vehicle and crashed into a minivan that was heading in the opposite direction, the Nevada Highway Patrol said.

The collision occurred shortly after 2 p.m. about 70 miles northwest of Las Vegas, just south of where the highway meets the state Route 160 turnoff.

Trooper Kevin Honea said a female driver of a Ford Crown Victoria was heading north and tried to pass a commercial truck. At that location, the highway is two lanes, one in each direction, Honea said.

Honea said that according to witnesses, the driver of the Crown Victoria appeared to realize she was unable to pass the truck, and then she lost control of her car and swerved into the southbound lane, where the car was struck by a Chrysler Town & Country minivan with seven passengers.

One of the dead was a female passenger in the Crown Victoria who was 18 or 19 years old. Two of the seven passengers in the minivan were pronounced dead at the scene, Honea said. They were a woman who appeared to be in her 80s and a boy who appeared to be 4 or 5.

Six people who survived the crash were flown to the University Medical Center with injuries that were not life-threatening, Honea said.

He said drivers need to take extra precautions when driving on two-lane highways.

"You need to make sure you have enough room to clear the vehicle before you try to pass, and put on your headlights even during the day," he said.