when a driver smashed through the glass doors of the Edgewater Hotel
& Casino and plowed into several banks of slot machines.
The 70-year-old male driver possibly suffered a
“medical episode” when he shot through a red light and raced toward the
Edgewater valet area about
Authorities also are looking into whether the driver’s 2007 silver Pontiac Vibe might have malfunctioned, said Officer
Alcohol has been ruled out as a factor in the crash.
was told the driver’s speed topped 60 mph and that he made no obvious
effort to stop. Everything happened so quickly that some gamblers
initially thought the casino’s roof had caved in.
The vehicle halted at least 35 feet inside the casino, near the hotel registration desk and the cashier’s cage, said
The vehicle’s front was crumpled like an accordion,
its windshield smashed and its air bag deployed, said Kinsey, who was
called to the scene. The car had sheared off stools from bolted bases
and scattered slot machines like bowling pins.
The body of one woman was found behind the vehicle,
the other in front. Both were covered with sheets. “They probably never
saw the guy. They probably never heard him coming,” Kinsey said.
Five people were transported to Western Arizona Regional Medical Center in
a Clark County Fire Department spokesman. Four other people and the
driver, who was conscious after the crash, were treated at the scene
for minor injuries.
As of midday Wednesday, authorities had not released the driver’s identity, but said he had a
The carnage could have been worse, Magliarditi said,
if the crash had occurred later in the day: The 20 or so rows of
entryway slots typically are packed.
The Edgewater is a 26-story hotel overlooking the
“Our feelings go out to the families of the people
who have died and been injured,” Magliarditi said. “And the witnesses,
too — they’re pretty shaken up.”
—
(c) 2010, Los Angeles Times.
Visit the Los Angeles Times on the Internet at http://www.latimes.com/
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
