8 Killed in Van Accident Near Las Vegas

A van skidded across Interstate 15, plunged down a steep highway median and turned over several times Wednesday, killing eight people and injuring five.

The van was carrying 13 passengers toward Las Vegas when it rolled over about 30 miles south of the city. The driver veered off the left side of the highway, then over-corrected, sending the van across the road and down the gravel median, the Nevada Highway Patrol said.

Twelve people were ejected from the van, and seven of them were killed, Highway Patrol spokesman Michael Cooke said. The only person in the van wearing a seat belt was among the survivors, authorities said.

The van was registered in California to Rental Car Finance Corp., an Ohio company. Authorities said they did not immediately know the relationship of the people in the van.

A bottle of alcohol was found among suitcases and other items strewn around the scene, but the Highway Patrol said it was unknown whether drinking played a role in the accident. Road conditions did not appear to have been a factor and no other vehicles were involved.

The accident occurred shortly after 1 p.m. between the two hotel-casinos that straddle the interstate in this small community.

A spokeswoman at University Medical Center in Las Vegas said the five people injured in the accident were airlifted to the hospital. She said three men in their 60s, a woman in her 60s and a woman in her 50s were in fair condition Wednesday evening.

Traffic on the busy interstate, which links Southern California and Las Vegas, was diverted while rescue personnel and investigators worked at the scene.