NHP: Pedestrian had been drinking before accident

INCLINE VILLAGE - A California man killed in a car-versus-pedestrian accident Tuesday night in Incline Village had been drinking, a Nevada Highway Patrol official said Thursday.

Joseph M. Joyce, 69, of Novato, Calif., died early Wednesday morning at Renown Medical Center in Reno after he was struck by a 2007 Cadillac Escalade driven by 64-year-old Andrea M. Brooks, of San Francisco, at about 9 p.m. Tuesday.

According to a press release issued by the Nevada Highway Patrol, Joyce didn't utilize a crosswalk when he attempted to cross Highway 28 near the Hacienda restaurant, 931 Tahoe Blvd.

Upon seeing the pedestrian, Brooks, who was driving in the northbound lane, braked and swerved to the right to avoid the collision. The left portion of her vehicle struck Joyce while he was in the northbound lane, the release said.

"I know alcohol played a factor. Alcohol was involved on the part of the pedestrian," said Chuck Allen, public relations officer with the NHP. "(Alcohol) was not involved on the part of the driver."

Capt. Steve Kelly, commander at the Washoe County Sheriff's Office Incline Village Substation, said his office received the call at 8:37 p.m. Incline deputies arrived on scene at 8:39 p.m., Kelly said, and NHP took over shortly afterward.

An official with the Washoe County Medical Examiner's Office confirmed on Thursday that the time of death was 12:10 a.m. Wednesday.

He said an official cause of death is yet to be determined.

Allen said preliminary evidence points to Joyce being the sole party to blame.

"It looks like (Brooks) took evasive action right away when she saw (Joyce). She braked and swerved to miss him," Allen said. "Several witnesses said the pedestrian was at fault. He was not in a crosswalk and alcohol was detected on his person.

"I don't see any foreseeable charges being filed against (Brooks)."

Jain Dolan, an Incline resident, had finished eating dinner with her family at the Hacienda and was heading to their car when she said her daughter witnessed the accident.

"She saw it, I only heard it - the slamming of the brakes, then the thud. It was really scary - it all happened so fast," Dolan said. "This made me think of how we all have to be careful. Maybe you need to go to a traffic light (to cross the road) when it's dark.

"I just don't know what he was doing."

Allen said while most fatal accident investigations can take up to 30 days, he expects this one to take less time because of the preliminary evidence and witness accounts.

According to a story published Wednesday in the Marin Independent Journal (Marin County, Calif.), Joyce owned Novato Builders Supply in Novato for more than 30 years and was married and had a family.

It is unknown whether Joyce was vacationing in Incline or was there on business, the story said.