A 26-year-old Wadsworth man died Thursday night in a pedestrian accident after being hit by a tractor-trailer while attempting to cross Interstate 80 two miles west of Fernley in Storey County, the Nevada Highway Patrol reports.
Jason D. Gonzalez died after he was struck while being on the right shoulder of the freeway, attempting to cross the eastbound lanes directly in front of the tractor trailer driven by a 57-year-old El Grove, Calif. man, said NHP Trooper Chuck Allen.
Gonzalez was near the right shoulder of the freeway and attempted to cross toward the center median area at the time of the accident. The front of the tractor-trailer combination struck Gonzalez causing fatal injuries.
The driver of the 2007 Freightliner big-rig, which was towing a van configured semi-trailer, stopped his vehicle on the right shoulder just east of the accident scene and is cooperating with NHP investigators.
The crash scene caused the closure of one eastbound lane for several hours while investigators completed their on-scene portion of the investigation which included diagramming the scene.
Trooper Doug Hildebrand of the Nevada Highway Patrol’s Major Accident Investigation Team or M.A.I.T is the lead investigator of this tragedy. Witnesses or anyone with additional information is encouraged to contact him at (775) 689-4623 or dhildebrand@dps.state.nv.us regarding case number NHP-131102660.