UPDATE JUNE 10: Nevada Highway Patrol says 23-year-old Jacqueline Arbarca from Las Vegas has died from injuries received during a crash with a semi on Blue Diamond Road on May 31.
NHP also says that their investigation revealed that the car was going approximately 88 mph when it hit the semi.
The driver is still in critical condition.
ORIGINAL STORY
Two parents are in extremely critical condition after a crash Friday on Blue Diamond Road near Torrey Pines Drive.
Nevada Highway Patrol says that a semi was westbound and in the left turn lane for Torrey Pines when a 2013 Honda Civic hit the second trailing unit of the semi.
The Honda ended up under the semi, causing the roof to be torn off.
The male driver and front-seat female passenger of the Honda were taken to UMC Trauma with critical injuries.
Their 2-year-old female child who was in a safety seat in the back of the car was also transported to University Medical Center and is alert and does not appear to have any major injuries.
The driver and female passenger have not been identified at this time.
The crash remains under investigation.
While we don’t know yet who is at fault for the crash, the point of impact may have played a role.
Federal Motor Vehicle Safety standards states that trailers and semi-trailers are required to be equipped with rear impact guards.
“It’s imperative that all the trucks have those installed to keep them from going too far under the truck,” says Andrew Bennett, Nevada Office of Traffic Safety.
However the car in Friday’s crash hit the side of the truck’s second trailer and slid under.
Side impact guards exist for trucks, but are not federally mandated like rear guards or are even required in the state of Nevada.
According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, side guards are already implemented in the private and local sectors in cities like San Francisco, Seattle, and Orlando. And others like Los Angeles and Austin, Texas are considering them.
