"Major accident" shuts down S. Las Vegas Blvd near #MissUniverse2015 @LVMPD says to avoid area. Image Via @News3LV pic.twitter.com/BUPnTJAx4D
— errol barnett • cbs (@errolbarnett) December 21, 2015
Following Sunday night’s Miss Universe pageant (where Steve Harvey announced the wrong winner), the trouble wasn’t over in Las Vegas. A major car accident shut down the portion of the Strip that includes the Bellagio and Paris Las Vegas hotels, as well as Planet Hollywood, where the pageant took place. News 3 in Las Vegas was first on the scene:
A vehicle has reportedly hit a group of over 20 pedestrians on the sidewalk on the Las Vegas Strip. Unconfirmed reports say there have been multiple deaths.
CNN further reports one fatality and at least 37 people injured. The cable news network also provides details from a stunned witness:
“Everyone was running … and as I was running, I saw a car up on the sidewalk coming toward us. I saw a lady, she didn’t seem like she wanted to stop the car, she had both hands on her wheel and she was looking straight forward. I saw men running after her, yelling, ‘stop, stop!’ As she was passing, we saw people running after her. Everyone was so frantic and just running around.”
The accident appears to be unrelated to the pageant, and police suspect drunken-driving. A female suspect turned herself in to security at the Tuscany Suites & Casino after fleeing the scene. The woman, who had a small child in the vehicle when the accident occurred, underwent field-sobriety tests.
(Via News 3 In Las Vegas and CNN)