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To: dragnet2; Berlin_Freeper; sphinx; cyclotic; Mom MD; Professional; nutmeg

"...(Truck) driver was released, cooperated with investigators, and impairment does not seem to be an issue, officials said..."


Well, a very big turn of events, it seems. The crash investigation uncovered significant drug impairment.
Drivers high on drugs and alcohol fail to control vehicles, fail to see others, and frequently responsible for tragic collisions. It appears that happened here.


LAS VEGAS (AP) — The driver of a box truck that struck and killed five bicyclists on a Nevada highway last week had a high level of methamphetamine in his system, prosecutors said Wednesday.

The 45-year-old man from Kingman, Arizona, faces 12 felony charges, including driving under the influence and reckless driving, in a criminal complaint filed in Las Vegas.

He was arrested Wednesday in Kingman and will be extradited to Nevada, where the charges he faces could put him in state prison for decades, the Clark County district attorney said.

The man had told investigators after the Dec. 10 crash that he fell asleep at the wheel on southbound Highway 95 between Boulder City and Searchlight.

Around 9:40 a.m., his truck ran into a group of about 20 bicyclists accompanied by an escort car. It hit several who were riding behind the support vehicle — a Subaru Outback — and then pushed that car into the bicyclists in front of it. Five people were pronounced dead at the scene.

The driver said he was on his regular work route, a 130-mile run from Las Vegas to Kingman by way of Bullhead City, prosecutor Eric Bauman said.

The initial announcement from the Nevada Highway Patrol said alcohol or drug impairment was not suspected, but blood tests showed he had nine times an allowable amount of methamphetamine in his system, Bauman said.

Prosecutors indicate driver was using methamphetamine — Mercury News


144 posted on 12/17/2020 11:02:58 AM PST by Blue Jays ( Rock hard ~ Ride free)
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To: Blue Jays

So for all of you who blamed the cyclists, you may apologize now.


145 posted on 12/17/2020 11:08:11 AM PST by cyclotic (The most dangerous people are the ones that feel the most helpless)
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To: Blue Jays
Thanks for the update. Just goes to show you, with people yaking on phones, texting, doing hard drugs, falling asleep, out on an open 2 lane open desert highway, where vehicles are normally doing 75-90mph, it's not a real good idea to go bicycling out there. I certainly wouldn't do it.☺

Btw, with all the attention this got and as bad as it was with 5 fatalities, they never once stated if the bicyclist were in the #1 lane or the #2 lane, and in fact never stated once if the bicyclist and or their so call, Safety vehicle" were on the shoulder, past the solid white fog line. I find that very odd they completely left that information out. Legally it won't matter much for the truck driver, but from an investigation standpoint, as it's critical to the investigation to establish where everyone was at point of impact. I say this because they darn well where the safety vehicle and the bicyclist were at the point of impact. So it's pretty odd they neglected to mention if those people were in, or partially in the #2 lane at point of impact or if they were all on the shoulder where they should have been. Why they didn't reveal this is inquisitive and a bit suspect in my mind.

161 posted on 12/17/2020 2:04:14 PM PST by dragnet2 (Diversion and evasion are tools of deceit)
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To: Blue Jays

Is there any information on who he was driving for? Ping me if anyone knows.

What a sad story. But we are now in a country that thinks any kind of drugs are fine.... Oh, as long as it’s not cigarettes you know, cigarettes’ are bad for you and causes death from second hand smoke and all....


170 posted on 12/17/2020 4:18:23 PM PST by Professional ( )
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