One dead, one injured after vehicle hits pedestrians in North Las Vegas

Police said a vehicle hit the two boys, both 14, on North Fifth Street near East Centennial Parkway. One of the boys died at the University Medical Center, police said.

North Fifth Street is closed at the scene.

North Las Vegas police spokesman Eric Leavitt said the boys were walking south in the dirt area along the east side of Fifth Street, against oncoming traffic, when a southbound sedan crossed the median and struck them. The area where the boys were walking does not have a sidewalk.

The sedan came to rest in the desert area east of Fifth Street.

The sedan’s 21-year-old driver, a man, was the only person inside the vehicle and is cooperating with police, Leavitt said. The spokesman said impairment is not suspected.

Leavitt said police were investigating what prompted the driver to cross the median. It was unclear Tuesday night if weather or excessive speeds played a role.

He said police think the boys were walking home from a nearby school when they were struck about 2 p.m. He said it was raining when police arrived, and puddles had formed in the area.

The Clark County coroner’s office will release the boy’s identity once his family is notified.

The deadly crash in North Las Vegas was the city’s second in two days, as a 21-year-old passenger died Monday night in a crash at Cheyenne Avenue and Civic Center Drive. Leavitt said rain may have factored in the crash.

Contact Mike Shoro at mshoro@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5290. Follow @mike_shoro on Twitter.