Printed in the High Desert Advocate Edition September 3, 2021.
On Friday, August 20, 2021, at around 5:39 pm, Nevada Highway Patrol (NHP) Troopers responded to a fatal crash on State Route (SR) 789 near Humboldt County , approximately 25 miles east of Winnemucca, Nevada. Preliminary investigation determined that a white Toyota Tundra truck was traveling southbound on SR789 and approaching a northbound Coach USA commercial passenger bus. For unknown reasons, the driver of the Tundra allowed it to cross the center line and into the path of the Coach bus. To avoid getting hit by the Tundra, the driver of the Coach bus steered it across the centerline and into the southbound travel lane. However, at the same time, the driver of the Tundra also traveled back into the southbound travel and struck the front of the Coach bus, nearly head-on.
Unfortunately, the driver of the Tundra, Randle Lawrence Durant, a 71-year-old resident from Winnemucca, was declared deceased on scene. The driver of the Coach Bus was transported to Humboldt General Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. The other two occupants in the bus were treated and released on the scene.
This crash is being investigated by the Northern Command East Multi-Disciplinary Investigation & Reconstruction Team (M.I.R.T.). If you were a witness to this incident, or have any information regarding the crash, please contact Trooper Duroy at (775) 623-6511.
