Early morning fatal accident on Desert Inn closes street
An early morning collision at Desert Inn Road and Paradise Road killed two people and left the Desert Inn arterial shut down for hours.
A 1998 Mercedes Benz C320 traveling westbound on Desert Inn Road collided with a westbound 2001 Dodge Dakota near the entrance of the Desert Inn Road underpass about 1 a.m., according to Las Vegas police.
The pickup was run off the right side of the road, flipped over and landed in a nearby church parking lot, killing two people in the truck, police said.
The driver of the car was identified as 24-year-old Hans Bludau of Las Vegas. After colliding with the Dodge, Bludau continued to drive westbound on Desert Inn Road until he struck the center concrete barrier. He then fled the scene on foot but was arrested at 2:45 a.m., according to Laura Meltzer, a police spokeswoman.
Bludau faces felony hit and run and DUI charges.
Officers believe impairment might be a factor in the crash.
The westbound lanes of Desert Inn Road between Paradise Road and Valley View Boulevard reopened about 9 a.m. after being closed for more than seven hours. The Clark County Fire Department said emergency responders typically wait for police to finish their investigation before removing dead victims from the scene.
Contact reporter Wesley Juhl at wjuhl@reviewjournal.com and follow him on Twitter @WesJuhl. Steven Slivka contributed to this report. Follow him on Twitter @StevenSlivka.