Spring break wreck claims second victim

A Silver Springs girl was the second person to die as the result of an April 13 accident on Fort Churchill Road.

Lyon County Undersheriff Joe Sanford said Samantha Brown, 16, succumbed to her injuries Sunday about 7 p.m.

The Silver Stage High School student had been in the intensive care unit of Renown Regional Medical Center in Reno for more than a week.

Brown was the front-seat passenger in a 1988 Ford Mustang driven by Brandon Van Bibber, 17. In the back seat were David Durant, 17, Chevy Brown, 14, and Miles Beales, 17. The group appeared to be returning home after camping out during spring break.

According to Sanford, Van Bibber was westbound about 8 a.m. on the wrong side of the dirt road when his Mustang ran headlong into an eastbound 2005 Jeep Cherokee carrying Ronald Simms, 66, of Fernley.

Van Bibber was pronounced dead at the scene, Brown and the other passengers were taken by helicopter to the hospital where the three boys were treated and ultimately released.

Funeral arrangements for Brown have yet to be announced.