Car smashes into Nevada casino, killing two

Two casino patrons were killed and at least seven injured Wednesday in the southern Nevada resort town of Laughlin when a driver smashed through the glass doors of the Edgewater Hotel & Casino and plowed into several banks of slot machines.

Driver Walter McGie, 70, of Kelso, Wash., was arrested late Wednesday on suspicion of two counts of reckless driving causing death, said the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, which patrols much of Clark County. The crash remains under investigation.

Earlier, police said McGie possibly suffered a “medical episode” when he shot through a red light and raced toward the Edgewater valet area about 9:24 a.m. McGie told investigators he had fainted while driving, the Associated Press reported.

Authorities were also looking into whether the driver’s 2007 silver Pontiac Vibe might have malfunctioned, Officer Jacinto Rivera, a police spokesman, said Wednesday afternoon.

Alcohol had been ruled out as a factor in the crash.

Joe Magliarditi, the casino’s chief operating officer, was told that the driver’s speed topped 60 mph and that he made no obvious effort to stop. Everything happened so quickly that some gamblers initially thought the casino’s roof had caved in.

The vehicle halted at least 35 feet inside the casino, near the hotel registration desk and the cashier’s cage, said Bill Kinsey, fire division chief in Bullhead City, Ariz., which is across the Colorado River from Laughlin.

The vehicle’s front was crumpled like an accordion, its windshield smashed and its air bag deployed, said Kinsey, who was called to the scene. The car had sheared off stools from bolted bases and scattered slot machines like bowling pins.

The body of one woman was found behind the vehicle, the other in front. Both were covered with sheets.

“They probably never saw the guy. They probably never heard him coming,” Kinsey said.

Seven people were transported to hospitals in Nevada and Arizona, some with critical injuries, police said, revising earlier estimates.

McGie was conscious after the crash and was questioned at the scene.

The carnage could have been worse, Magliarditi said, if the crash had occurred later in the day: The 20 or so rows of entryway slots are typically packed.

The Edgewater is a 26-story hotel about 100 miles south of Las Vegas.

“It’s terrible,” Magliarditi said. “Our feelings go out to the families of the people who have died and been injured. And the witnesses too -- they’re pretty shaken up.”

ashley.powers@ latimes.com