6th Road Crew Worker Hit by Van Dies

A sixth member of a roadside cleanup crew died Monday, the day after a speeding van slammed into the group and killed five youths on Interstate 15 on Sunday.

The victims were among 45 juvenile offenders, ages 14 through 17, who had been sentenced to pick up trash for the Clark County Youth Services Department.

They were identified as Scott Garner Jr., 14; Alberto Puig, 16; Anthony Smith, 14; Rebeccah Glicken, 15; Malina Stoltzfus, 15, and Jennifer Booth, 16, who died Monday.

Officials said that Jessica Williams, 20, a dancer at a strip club, careened off the highway at 75 mph and slammed into the group. Five youths were pronounced dead at the scene.

Williams was treated for minor injuries and a woman passenger was treated and released at University Medical Center.

Williams said she had smoked marijuana two hours before the crash, said Nevada Highway Patrol Trooper Michael Cooke. She was cited on six counts of reckless driving, six counts of felony driving under the influence with drugs involved, one count of possession of a controlled substance and one count of possession of drug paraphernalia.

Trooper Shane David, the lead investigator in the case, said Williams carried a driver’s license with a Poway, Calif., address, but she said she was from Littlefield, Ariz., where the vehicle was registered.

The tragedy raised questions about the program that allows juvenile offenders to pick up trash in lieu of jail time and fines.

“We think because the program has been very successful over the past 11 years, we will continue,” said Doug Bradford, Clark County spokesman. “But we will take a look at additional safety measures.”

Officials said no one else had been injured in the program’s 11 years of operation.

There were two cleanup crews working at the time of Sunday afternoon’s accident, one on the side of the highway and one in the center divider.

“They were picking up trash and cleaning up the area,” said Highway Patrol Sgt. Steve Cabrales. “They were all in one area and she just drove right through them.”

Bradford said the county may decide to place traffic signal cones to restrict traffic in the lane closest to where the young people are working.

“We don’t want to sacrifice safety for picking up trash,” Bradford said. “We want to make sure the kids are protected.”

Sunday’s accident occurred 11 days after another I-15 crash that killed eight and injured five. That accident occurred near Jean, 30 miles south of Las Vegas. Cooke said the driver fell asleep in the March 6 accident.