Officials to address Highway 50 collisions

The Carson City Sheriff’s Office invites the public to attend a press conference regarding the crashes and fatalities on Highway 50.

The conference, sponsored by the Gold Dust West Hotel Casino will be 1 p.m. Thursday in the northeast parking lot of the casino.

Led by the Nevada Department of Public Safety, insights also will be shared from sheriffs of Carson City and Lyon and Churchill counties, the Department of Transportation, Office of Traffic Management, and more.

“This is your opportunity to learn first-hand exactly what is being done about the challenge of making Highway 50 the safest highway to travel,” said Carson City Sheriff Ken Furlong in a press release.

Carson City Mayor Bob Crowell will also attend, along with invited guest Natasha Gibson. Gibson lost her two children, Alexis, 8, and Colton, 3, in a multiple-car collision near the Virginia City turn-off on April 22, 2011.

“While Alexis and Colton may represent our youngest, all of those who have been killed or severely injured on this highway leave families devastated,” Furlong said in the release. “To Natasha, and all of the mothers who have lost their children of any age, please join with the Carson City Sheriff’s Office, Nevada Department of Public Safety, and many other agencies, as we proclaim enough is enough.”