Published in the High Desert Advocate February 19th, 2021 Edition.
A four pile up deadly accident North of Wells, on I-93, of 3 pickup trucks and a u-haul, last Thursday Feb. 11, 2021. The gray Toyota Tacoma pickup with the white Dodge Ram. (all photos credit Nevada Highway Patrol of Northern Division)
In the four pile up tragic accident North of Wells, on I-93, here the u-haul.(photo credit Nevada Highway Patrol of Northern Division)
Thursday, February 11, 2021 at around 6:15 pm (PT/or 7:15 MT), Nevada Highway Patrol Troopers (NHP) responded to a crash on on US-93, approximately 27 miles north of Wells, (still in Elko County). The crash was reported to involve two pickup trucks that were blocking the travel lanes. But upon arrival, NHP determined that there were four vehicles involved instead of two and that both (the northbound and southbound) travel lanes were blocked.
Preliminary investigation determined that a white Dodge Ram pickup was traveling south on US-93 towards Wells. A U-Haul moving van was traveling north also on US-93, towards Jackpot. Behind the U-Haul was a blue Ram pickup followed by a gray Toyota Tacoma pickup.
The driver of the white Dodge Ram allowed the vehicle to travel from the southbound lane into the northbound lane, sideswiping the U-Haul moving van. The white Dodge Ram continued to travel southbound in the northbound travel lane and struck the front of the blue Ram pickup. The white Dodge Ram rotated towards the center of the highway and was subsequently struck by the gray Toyota Tacoma which caused the white Dodge Ram to overturn onto its right side.
Unfortunately, the driver of the white Dodge Ram and two occupants of the blue Ram pickup succumbed to their injuries and were pronounced deceased at the scene. The driver of the white Dodge Ram was identified as 24-year- old Sterling Jay Price of Visalia, California. The two deceased occupants of the blue Ram pickup were identified as 25-year-old Ramon Miguel Pena and 25-year-old Bryann Mendoza, both of Susanville, California. An adult male passenger in the white Dodge Ram sustained non-life threatening injuries and was transported from the scene. A juvenile passenger in the blue Ram pickup sustained life-threatening injuries and remains in critical condition. Both directions of US-93 were shut down from 6:15 PM until 12:45 AM on Friday February 12, 2021. With the assistance of our partners at the Nevada Department of Transportation (NDOT), US-93 was closed in Jackpot and Wells. Traffic was redirected until the highway was completely reopened. Impairment is suspected in this crash.
The crash is being investigated by the Nevada Highway Patrol Northern Command East Multi-Disciplinary Investigation and Reconstruction Team (M.I.R.T.). If you were a witness to this incident, or have any information regarding the crash, please contact Trooper Payne at the NHP Elko Office at (775) 753-1111.
