By KEN RITTER, Associated Press Writer Ken Ritter, Associated Press Writer – 1 hr 1 min ago
LAS VEGAS – Two casino patrons were killed and eight people were hurt Wednesday when a speeding vehicle crashed through the entrance of a hotel in the southern Nevada resort town of Laughlin, police said.
Investigators believed the 75-year-old male driver of a silver Pontiac Vibe suffered a "medical episode" before the 9:30 a.m. crash at the Edgewater Hotel & Casino, Las Vegas police Officer Barbara Morgan said.
"The vehicle ran into the front entrance right near the valet," Morgan said.
Two people were killed at the scene, five were taken hospitals with unspecified injuries, and the driver was treated at the scene for minor injuries, Morgan said.
Clark County fire spokesman Scott Allison said firefighters found the vehicle in a lobby area, and that it may have hit as many as six slot machines.
"It's just a bad accident," he said.
Joe Magliarditi, casino chief operating officer, said the vehicle slammed into the lobby after speeding down a 150-foot horseshoe-shaped driveway toward the 26-story hotel on the Colorado River waterfront.
"I've heard numbers from 60 miles per hour or higher," Magliarditi said.
Morgan said witnesses told police the vehicle approached the front of the hotel at "an extremely high rate of speed."
Police at the scene reported that alcohol or drugs did not appear to be factors in the crash, Morgan said.
Laughlin is a Colorado River resort about 100 miles south of Las Vegas.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100203/ap_ ... ash_nevada
