LOVELOCK - Three motorists were killed on Friday, Oct. 14, in two separate crashes involving wrong-way drivers. One of the fatalities is a Lovelock resident. According to Nevada Department of Public Safety Highway Patrol Public Information Officer Chuck Allen, on the night of Oct. 14 at approximately 9:24 p.m. Lovelock resident Scott Francis, 45, was driving a green 1996 GMC Jimmy SUV westbound in the eastbound lanes of Interstate 80. Francis' SUV sideswiped a white 2006 GMC Sierra pickup pulling a flatbed trailer that was driven by Jardy L. Kyner, 41, from Columbia Falls, Mont. Kyner had three passengers in the pickup with him; two from Whitefish and the other from Kalispell. According to the NHP, after sideswiping the pickup and trailer, Francis' SUV struck a white Chevrolet Silverado pickup head-on. The Silverado was driven by Austin Williams, 24, of Sun Valley. After striking the Silverado the SUV came apart and caught fire, killing Francis, according to NHP reports. The impact of the collision caused the Silverado to overturn and it too caught fire. Amazingly none of the other motorists involved in the accidents were injured. The crash closed both eastbound travel lanes of the freeway, and traffic was re-routed around the scene by Nevada Department of Transportation personnel and deputies from the Pershing County Sheriff's Office. The second crash took place approximately one hour later at 10:24 p.m., when troopers were dispatched to mile marker 46 on I-80 near Fernley. According to a press release, the wrong-way driver of a 2002 Mercedes Benz E320, 59-year-old Vladimir Volovik of Reno, collided head-on with a Toyota Echo sedan traveling eastbound driven by 27-year-old Jessica L. Stolting of Fernley. Stolting had a passenger riding in the right front seat with her, Donald N. Bobb, 27, of Schurz. The force of the head-on collision killed both drivers while Bobb sustained a lower extremity injury. He was taken to Renown Regional Medical Center, where he was treated and has been released. The crash closed both eastbound travel lanes for several hours and traffic was re-routed around the scene through Wadsworth. The Nevada Highway Patrol-Northern Command Major Accident Investigation Team is investigating both crashes. Anyone with information concerning either crash is encouraged to contact Trooper Eric Gallagher at (775) 689-4661 regarding case # NHP-111013764 for the Lovelock crash or NHP-111013801 for the Fernley crash.[[In-content Ad]]
