Cal Star 6 in the air over a fatal collision near Spooner Junction at Lake Tahoe. Tahoe Daily Tribune photo by Rob Galloway
The second fatal collision in Douglas County in 2023 snarled Spooner Junction at Lake Tahoe for nearly four hours on Tuesday afternoon.
One person in a sport utility vehicle that collided with an Amador Stagecoach tour bus was pronounced dead at the scene while another occupant was taken to Barton Memorial Hospital in South Lake Tahoe with nonlife-threatening injuries.
The identity of the deceased had not been released as of 11 a.m. Wednesday.
According to the Nevada State Police, the collision occurred at around 1:45 p.m. when the SUV on Highway 28 was making a left turn onto Highway 50 toward Carson City when it collided with the bus which was on Highway 50 heading west.
Three of the 17 passengers on the bus reported neck and back injuries from the collision, though none were transported.
Tahoe Douglas Fire Protection District first responders reported extrication was required for one person in the SUV.
One lane opened after about an hour, but eastbound traffic was backed up all the way down the grade toward Glenbrook.
At least two other collisions, including one where a gray Lexus left its bumper in a lane, were reported while the State Police were onscene, but there were no reports of injuries.
Dispatchers reported people were making U-turns to get out of the traffic jam and back west toward Tahoe.
It also had collateral effects on traffic in Carson Valley, where motorists were backing up as they tried to turn left from Muller Lane onto Highway 395 just north of Minden.
Not long after the road was reported open at 5:30 p.m., medics and state police responded to a report of a pickup hitting a tree a mile north of the Douglas County line on Highway 28.
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All travel lanes on highways 50 and 28 are open as of 5:30 p.m. after one person was killed and another injured in a collision involving an SUV and a tour bus at the junction near Spooner Lake on Tuesday.
The collision occurred at 1:45 p.m., according to the Nevada State Police, who are on scene.
According to the preliminary investigation, an Amador Stagecoach tour bus with 17 passengers was traveling westbound on Highway 50. A sport utility vehicle southbound on Highway 28 made a left onto Highway 50 east toward Carson City.
One person was pronounced deceased on-scene. One adult person was transported to a nearby hospital with nonlife-threatening injuries.
As of 5:30 p.m. all travel lanes are open.
Tahoe Douglas Fire Protection District firefighters reported extrication was required for one person in the SUV.
Both highways were closed at the intersection while an ambulance helicopter landed to take the injured for treatment.
Three people on the bus reported neck and back injuries as a result of the collision.
Authorities are investigating a second collision between a Lexus and another vehicle that resulted in a bumper being left in the roadway.
The collision snarled traffic through the intersection with eastbound traffic backed up all the way down the hill toward Glenbrook. Motorists were slowly moving in the lane, according to a traffic camera overlooking Highway 50.
Dispatchers reported people were making U-turns to get out of the traffic jam and back west toward Tahoe.
It also had collateral effects on traffic in Carson Valley, where motorists were backing up as they tried to turn left from Muller Lane onto Highway 395 just north of Minden.
The Nevada State Police are in charge of the scene. The Record-Courier has reached out to the agency for more information.
A new collision was reported near Glenbrook involving a white F-150 and Toyota 4Runner while the other collision was being investigated.