Memorial honors teen who died in south Las Vegas Valley crash

A memorial has surfaced at the site of an April 4 crash in the south Las Vegas Valley that resulted in the death of a Bishop Gorman High School senior.

According to an email from the Henderson Police Department, police responded on April 4 to a crash east of the Via Inspirada intersection with Las Vegas Boulevard, just east of Interstate 15 in the far southern Las Vegas Valley.

Police said a Ford pickup truck had crashed into a power pole, which caused the truck to be engulfed in flames. The lone occupant of the truck was found dead, police said. Speed was a factor in the crash, according to Henderson police.

At the crash site on Friday, a large makeshift memorial commemorating Luke Wingard included flowers, a lacrosse stick, a memorial cross and messages that had been written on the power pole. One message referred to Wingard as “one of the coolest and kindest” people the writer had ever met.

When asked by the Las Vegas Review-Journal about Wingard’s April 4 death, the coroner’s office on Thursday confirmed it was investigating the 17-year-old’s death.

According to Bishop Gorman’s website, Wingard was a senior at the school and a member of Bishop Gorman’s track and field team.

Efforts to reach Bishop Gorman for comment have been unsuccessful.