Winter weather played a factor in a multitude of vehicle crashes that occurred near Lakeview Hill on I-580 Thursday night.
Carson City Sheriff Ken Furlong said deputies saw nearly a dozen vehicles involved in accidents in about a three-hour time frame on the Lake View Hill area. It all started near 5:30 p.m., when a several vehicle accident closed Interstate 580. When drivers were diverted down Lakeview Hill, icy conditions caused several people to run off the road or into each other.
Furlong said they don’t have an accurate count of how many people were involved, since not all could be classified as crashes. He said several vehicles just ran off the road and caused traffic delays, but weren’t considered crashes.
No major injuries were reported in any of the accidents, though north and southbound lanes were closed for more than an hour on I-580.
Luckily, those returning home from the holidays will not have a problem with weather impacting road conditions. Meteorologists said the weather is “quieting down.” The low pressure system that produced the showers and weather is leaving the area this weekend, and residents should expect to see dry conditions today and Sunday, said meteorologist Mark Deutschendorf. He said temperatures are expected to remain in the low- to mid-30s all weekend.
“Overall, we are not expecting weather travel impact for returning travelers,” said Deutschendorf.
Nevada Highway Patrol is also investigating a fatal vehicle accident that occurred on Kingsbury Grade Wednesday night. The accident occurred near mile marker 9 on Highway 207, which is near the bottom of the hill, coming from Minden.
Douglas County Sheriff’s Department responded to a call at 5:01 p.m. for a fatal crash. NHP Trooper Duncan Dauber said the call initially came in as a non-injury, single vehicle accident, but when medics arrived on scene at 5:26 p.m., they had to begin giving CPR to the victim. Dauber said the man was taken by ambulance to the local medical center where he passed. The man was allegedly driving a Budget moving van when he crashed into the side of the hill, Dauber said.
The victim was a 52-year-old Reno man. His name has not been released yet, as next of kin hasn’t been notified.
NHP is still investigating the cause of the accident.