Accident snarls Washoe Valley traffic

Brake failure caused an early morning motor home accident Saturday on Highway 395 north of Lakeview Hill, officials said Monday.

"The guy was in a 1998 Ford Expedition towing a 37-foot travel trailer and when he came off the hill he didn't have any brakes," said Trooper Mark Clark of the Nevada Highway Patrol. "The trailer started to sway, and then he attempted to correct but lost control."

Clark said the truck went over a cement abutment, broke free of the trailer and rolled down the embankment.

Driver Patrick Nelligan, 33, was treated at Carson-Tahoe Hospital.

The accident left the trailer teetering on the overpass of Highway 395 and Eastlake Boulevard and rerouted traffic for four hours, Clark said.

Nelligan was cited for failure to use due care and no brakes.

The Stateline man told troopers he was in the process of moving to Washington when the accident occurred.

Both trailer and truck were total losses, Clark said.