Three injured at bus stop

Three people were seriously injured Thursday when a trailer broke free from a southbound pickup and crashed into a bus stop on Martin Luther King Boulevard.

The pickup's driver, Cedric Banks of North Las Vegas, was not injured. The 46-year-old man watched somberly from a distance as Las Vegas police conducted their investigation at the accident scene.

"I wish this had never happened," Banks said.

He said he was driving his pickup on Martin Luther King when the trailer "just popped off."

"It's just a freak accident," Banks said. "That's all I can tell you."

But Sgt. Monty Hall of the Las Vegas Police Department said the two-axle trailer was not properly hitched to the truck and lacked safety chains. He said Banks probably would face charges in connection with the crash.

"Anytime you set anything in motion on a roadway, you're responsible for the actions of that vehicle," Hall said.

Banks said three men were injured at the bus stop, between Balzar Avenue and Lake Mead Boulevard. He said he held the man who was most seriously wounded until help arrived.

"He said he was hurt, help him, and I was holding his hands," Banks said.

Banks said the man had leg injuries.

Banks recognized another victim as an acquaintance but did not know his name.

Hall said all three victims were taken to University Medical Center after the 8:30 a.m. crash.

He said one victim had potentially life-threatening wounds, which included leg injuries and injuries to his "upper extremities."

According to police, the three victims were waiting at the bus stop on the west side of Martin Luther King when the trailer separated from the truck and veered onto the sidewalk. The trailer struck the victims and came to rest straddling the sidewalk and a wall.

Two of the victims, a 41-year-old Las Vegas resident and a 41-year-old North Las Vegas resident, were listed in serious condition after the crash. The third victim, a 51-year-old North Las Vegas resident, was listed in critical condition.

Police would not release the victims' names until their relatives had been notified.

The southbound lanes of Martin Luther King were closed for at least two hours at the accident scene as police conducted their investigation.

Banks said he does "side work" cleaning up yards and was headed to a friend's house to do such work when the trailer came off his 1971 pickup.

"I don't drive fast," he said.

Hall said police had no evidence that Banks was speeding. Banks said he lives a couple of miles away from where the crash occurred.

Contact reporter Carri Geer Thevenot at cgeer@reviewjournal.com or (702) 383-0264.