Teens identified in Washoe fatal

(Staff reports) The names of the teenage victims of a Washoe Valley accident last week were released Monday.

Chelsea Mendoza, 15, and Zachary Schmith, 17, died following the 3 p.m. accident Friday on East Lake Boulevard.

According to Deputy Michelle Youngs, with the Washoe County Sheriff's Department, Schmith was driving a dirt bike, with Mendoza as his passenger, westbound on Esmeralda Drive, an eastbound one-way street.

The dirt bike collided with a Jeep Grand Cherokee driven by a 44-year-old Washoe Valley man who turned east onto Esmeralda from White Pine Drive.

Schmith, who was not wearing a helmet, was thrown from the bike along with Mendoza, who was wearing a helmet.

They were both pronounced dead at the scene.