5 cyclists killed, 4 injured after truck smashes into group taking 'retirement ride' on Nevada highway
BOULDER CITY, NEVADA: Five cyclists were killed and four others injured after a box truck slammed into them while they were riding along a Nevada highway on Thursday, December 10. The cyclists were all close friends who used to go on rides on an annual basis. The group, this year, was reportedly celebrating the retirement of one of its members from the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department.
The tragic incident occurred on December 10 morning on US Highway 95, south of Boulder City. There were reportedly 20 cyclists who were out on a 130-mile ride which began in Henderson. Reports state that the cyclists were also accompanied by a safety escort vehicle, a Subaru, which was carrying water, snacks and spare tires for the ride.
The vehicle was trailing the group for most of the ride, but seven cyclists decided to move behind the car to escape strong headwinds. Soon after, a box truck, which had crossed into the bicycle lane, approached from the back and crashed into the cyclists. Several of the cyclists were reportedly pinned against the Subaru in the front. The collision also resulted in the Subaru pushing forward and striking at least one more cyclist riding ahead.
Five cyclists from the group were declared dead at the scene and one of the injured bicyclists was airlifted to a hospital in critical condition. Another cyclist, in serious condition, was transported to the hospital by ambulance. One of the cyclists from the group, Michael Anderson, while talking to a local TV station, said: "It's the worst thing I could ever see in my life."
Anderson, who had been celebrating his retirement after 22 years of service in the Las Vegas police force, was uninjured. “Try to contact their families... I don’t even know how to say it to them,” he added.
The former officer told the outlet that the group has been doing the annual rides for the past 15 years without any issues. He added this they were just unfortunate this year. "Every year, as I said, we do the Nipton loop. We leave the M casino, go on the 95 and go to Searchlight and back up to Nipton, California. We do it every year, no problems," Anderson stated. "This year was just at the wrong place, at the wrong time."
According to officials from Highway Patrol, the truck driver was not believed to have been impaired at the time of the deadly crash. The details of the driver, including his name and age, were not immediately released by authorities. Names of the people deceased ad injured in the incident have not yet been made public either.
The driver was reportedly not injured and continued to remain at the scene and cooperated with investigators. “It’s a horrific tragedy when you have a beautiful sunny day like this and we just lost the lives of five people,” Trooper Travis Smaka said. Nevada Gov Steve Sisolak also shared a statement on the incident saying he was devastated about the situation and sent love to all those affected.