The wreckage of a Tech Plumbing Heating & Air Inc. van was towed through Gardnerville after being involved in a head-on collision on March 8.
The wreckage of a Tech Plumbing Heating & Air Inc. van was towed through Gardnerville and Minden with a Nevada Highway Patrol escort after a March 7 head-on collision near Spring Valley Drive.
The van’s entire front end appeared crushed after it collided head-on with what a passerby described as a cattle truck, closing Highway 395 near Spring Valley Drive for more than four hours.
Miraculously, the driver survived and was transported from the scene with life-threatening injuries after initial reports indicated he didn’t make it.
According to the passerby, the cattle truck appeared to have jackknifed. The driver of the semi was treated for minor injuries.
The initial investigation indicated the van crossed the center line into the path of the truck, Nevada State Police Sgt. Chris Brown said on Friday morning.
The collision occurred at 7 a.m. in the southbound lanes where Highway 395 climbs north into Double Spring Flat in the Pine Nut Mountains. The first indications that traffic was moving were around 11 a.m.
With Monitor Pass closed, Highway 395 is the only direct route that doesn’t require a detour through Mason and Dayton valleys and onto Highway 395 in Carson City.