Two hurt, two walk away from Mound House wreck

Two people were hurt and the westbound lanes of Highway 50 closed for an hour after a dump truck and a semi truck collided in Mound House on Tuesday afternoon.

The three-vehicle accident occurred at 2:26 p.m. at the intersection of Highway 50 and Flint Drive.

Candido Olmedl, 45, of Yerington was taken to Washoe Medical Center by Care Flight helicopter after he pulled out from Flint Drive in front of an eastbound semi truck.

According to a hospital spokesman, Olmedl was being evaluated Tuesday evening.

Witnesses Greg Sawin, of Gardnerville, and Tim Bell, of Dayton, were uninjured when the pickup truck in which they were driving was sideswiped by the out-of-control semi.

"We knew it was coming, but there was nothing we could do," Sawin said.

Bell, who was in the passenger seat, said the two were westbound on Highway 50 East pulling a trailer carrying steel columns when the accident happened before their eyes.

"We knew it was going to be bad. I was screaming trying to get out of the driver side window. That semi was heading right for me," he said.

He said when all three vehicles came to a rest in both westbound lanes, the semi driver was "shaking like a leaf," and the dump truck driver was conscious but seemed "out of it."

The dump truck is owned by Sierra West Concrete.

The Nevada Highway Patrol directed westbound traffic through one eastbound lane.

The semi driver was taken to Carson-Tahoe Hospital by ambulance.

Both Bell and Sawin refused medical attention.

"I feel pretty lucky," Bell said. "That scared the hell out of me."