Las Vegas, Nevada: Driver and Passenger Dead in Fiery Crash on I-15 Ramp at St. Rose Parkway

A driver and a passenger died Monday night, October 26, after their car crashed and caught fire on a freeway off-ramp at the south end of the Las Vegas valley, the Nevada Highway Patrol said.

Troopers were called at about 10:06 p.m. to the southbound Interstate 15 off-ramp to St. Rose Parkway, which is State Route 146. Investigators said the four-door sedan left the road, struck a concrete sign and became fully engulfed in flames. Both people inside the car were confirmed dead at the scene.

The ramp was closed overnight

The southbound I-15 off-ramp to southbound St. Rose Parkway stayed closed overnight while troopers investigated the crash and crews cleared the scene. The ramp had reopened by 5 a.m. Tuesday, in time for the morning drive toward Henderson and Seven Hills.

State police have not released the names of the driver or the passenger. Their identities will be released by the coroner once families have been notified, which is the normal process in Nevada fatal crashes. Troopers have also not said what caused the sedan to leave the road, and more detail is expected after the preliminary investigation is complete.

A second fatal crash the same night

The I-15 fire was the second fatal crash in the Las Vegas valley on Monday night. About an hour earlier, at 9:10 p.m., a 72-year-old woman died in a two-vehicle crash at Mountain Vista Street and Rawhide Street in the southeast valley. Las Vegas Metropolitan Police said a Mitsubishi Outlander turning left from northbound Mountain Vista onto westbound Rawhide was struck on the passenger side by a southbound Toyota Solara. The Mitsubishi hit a raised curb at the corner of the intersection. Medical personnel tried to save the woman, but she was pronounced dead at the scene. Her death was the 99th traffic related fatality in Metro jurisdiction this year, police said. Both drivers were taken to a hospital, and police said impairment is not suspected in that crash. The intersection was closed while investigators worked.

Police have not connected the two crashes, which happened in different parts of the valley and are being investigated by different agencies. The highway patrol handles the I-15 ramp case, and Metro police handle the Mountain Vista case.

What drivers should know

The St. Rose Parkway ramp is open again and no closures from either crash remain in place. Anyone who saw the sedan leave the I-15 ramp on Monday night, or who has dash camera video from the south end of the valley around 10 p.m., can contact the Nevada Highway Patrol. Investigators in fatal ramp crashes use that video to establish speed, lane position and whether another vehicle was involved before the car left the road.