Man held in Incline couple's deaths

INCLINE VILLAGE, Nev - Two Incline Village residents were killed Friday after being struck by a truck driven by a Northern California man suspected of being under the influence of drugs, according to the Nevada Highway Patrol.

Christopher Torii Smith, 25, from Grass Valley, Calif., was driving a pickup southbound on Highway 28 near the Village Boulevard intersection shortly before 8 p.m. Friday when he allegedly struck the two pedestrians crossing from the east side, in what was described in an NHP press release Saturday morning as a "horrific crash."

Witness statements and evidence at the scene indicated that the pedestrians - a man and a woman - were in or near a painted crosswalk when they were struck, according to published reports. They were a married couple, an NHP official said in a Saturday morning interview.

The man was pronounced dead at the scene, and the woman died from her injuries en route to Renown Regional Medical Center in Reno.

Smith, who had three passengers in the truck, was booked into Washoe County Jail on suspicion of two counts of driving under the influence causing death, and failure to yield to pedestrians; his bail was set at $60,200.

The identities of the pedestrians were withheld until next of kin is notified.

Both directions of Highway 28 were closed for nearly four hours, according to the NHP, before reopening at about 11:40 p.m.