Two people were killed and three critically injured Tuesday after the driver of a Ford F-350 pulling a large boat down U.S. Highway 50 failed to stop at a red light, causing an eight-car crash.
First responders from Carson City and Douglas County responded to the 12:45 p.m. collision at U.S. Highway 395 where 50 meets Interstate 580.
Nevada Highway Patrol spokesman Charles Caster said the preliminary investigation showed the Ford driver was eastbound on U.S. 50 when the collision occurred.
The Ford ran into a Chevrolet Silverado that is believed to be the vehicle in which both people died and that closed the intersection for nearly five hours.
They would be the second and third people to have died at the intersection in the last two weeks after a Gardnerville man was struck and killed by an alleged hit and run driver Oct. 28.
Three ambulance helicopters were required to transport the critically injured to area hospitals.
The collision caused the boat to disconnect from the Ford and it continued a quarter-mile down the freeway before it stopped on its own.
To reopen the freeway, the Nevada Department of Transportation had to use front-loaders to clear the wreckage, which was strewn across the scene. Caster said Wednesday morning that a crane had to be called in to remove the boat.
Traffic started trickling through the intersection at around 4 p.m.
