A mattress lying in the road caused a fatal accident on Highway 395 in Steamboat Springs that backed up traffic for hours Tuesday.
Nevada Highway Patrol Trooper Janay Sherven said that just after 6 p.m. a 37-year-old Reno man was northbound on Highway 395 near Towne Drive in a Toyota Tercel when he saw the mattress.
Sherven said the man tried to avoid the mattress, but struck it, over-corrected and slid backwards into the southbound travel lanes. A southbound vehicle struck the Tercel. The driver of the southbound vehicle was able to pull over on the side of the road and did not suffer serious injury.
The Reno man, who was not wearing his seat belt, died at the scene.
Southbound traffic was stopped for about 30 minutes, Sherven said. The area was backed up for nearly three hours.
The owner of the mattress is not known.
Witnesses to the accident, or those with information about the mattress in the roadway, are asked to call NHP at 688-2500.