Maserati, SUV gunfight causes deadly Vegas crash
Feb 21, 2013, 3:48 PM
LAS VEGAS (AP) – A Maserati involved in a gunfight with an SUV on the Las Vegas Strip crashed into a taxi that that burst into flames, leaving three people dead and at least three injured early Thursday, police said.
The Maserati driver, the taxi driver and a passenger in the cab were killed. The SUV got away.
In all, five vehicles were involved in the dramatic crash around 4:30 a.m. Thursday at Flamingo and Las Vegas boulevards, a wide intersection surrounded by some of the most famous casinos on the Strip, including the Bellagio, Caesars Palace and the Paris.
It started with people in the Maserati and the SUV exchanging gunfire before the high-end sports car hit the taxi, said Sgt. John Sheahan. Three other vehicles were involved in the wreck, but the SUV was gone when police arrived, Sheahan said.
Several people were taken to the hospital, including a passenger from the Maserati. Four were taken to University Medical Center. Hospital spokeswoman Danita Cohen said three were treated and released, while one person remained in the hospital. Their condition was not released.
The intersection is expected to be closed for hours as officers investigate.
A tourist who witnessed the aftermath of the crash told KLAS-TV the burning taxi looked like a fireball.
More people may be hurt, Sheahan said.
It’s the latest in a series of violent actions on the tourist corridor since the beginning of the year. Two people were critically wounded in a shooting at a parking garage Feb. 6, and a tourist was stabbed in an elevator at The Hotel at Mandalay Bay Feb. 16.
A spokesman for the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, Jeremy Handel, said his organization didn’t immediately have a comment on the incident and deferred to the police unit that patrols the tourism district.
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Associated Press writer Michelle Rindels contributed to this report.
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