Woman killed after hitting crane on 215 Beltway in Las Vegas
A car crashed into a moving construction crane on the 215 Beltway in the northwest valley on Friday morning, killing the car’s driver and closing the freeway, the Nevada Highway Patrol said.
The Highway Patrol was called to the crash at about 8:15 a.m. Friday on the northbound 215 Beltway south of Cheyenne Avenue, spokeswoman Ashlee Wellman said. Investigators determined that a BMW had crashed into the back of a construction crane that was driving along the highway.
“The cranes fold down and then they can drive,” Wellman said, adding that the crane was “in the far right travel lane with its hazard lights activated and traveling at a lower speed than the posted speed limit.”
After crashing into the crane, the BMW caught fire with the female driver still inside. Witnesses and the crane driver attempted to pull her from the vehicle but could not due to the flames, Wellman said.
The driver died at the scene. She will be identified by the Clark County coroner’s office.
The northbound 215 Beltway was closed in the area of the crash, and traffic was being diverted off of the highway at the northbound Lake Mead Boulevard exit, Wellman said.
Further information was not immediately available.
Contact Katelyn Newberg at knewberg@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0240. Follow @k_newberg on Twitter. Review-Journal staff writer Glenn Puit contributed to this report.
