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Man Said to Smash Vehicles Near Hoover Dam

Posted on: Tuesday, 7 February 2006, 18:00 CST

LAS VEGAS - A man was jailed Tuesday on multiple felony charges after he crashed a stolen vehicle into cars including a police cruiser near Hoover Dam, authorities said.

Three federal officers were hospitalized with minor injuries after the Monday chase, but no pedestrians or motorists were hurt, officials said.

"He was ramming vehicles out of his way. That's how it was described to me," said Roxanne Dey, spokeswoman for the National Park Service at Lake Mead.

Joel Kenneth Parker, 46, was accused of speeding through a security checkpoint on U.S. 93 on the Nevada side of the dam, but stopping when a retractable metal barrier popped up in the roadway connecting Nevada and Arizona over the Colorado River.

The barrier was installed as a security measure after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

Officials said Parker reversed the sport utility vehicle and drove toward Boulder City, striking several vehicles along the winding two-lane highway leading from the dam.

He was arrested after the tires of the SUV were flattened by spikes placed across the highway by police from Boulder City and several other agencies.

Authorities said Parker stole the SUV after breaking into a home in Henderson, confronting a 59-year-old woman and taking the keys.

"The only thing he was interested in was finding transportation," Tom Daft, the husband of the woman, told the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

Parker was being held at the Henderson city jail on felony home invasion, kidnapping and auto theft charges.

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Information from: Las Vegas Review-Journal, http://www.lvrj.com

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Information from: Las Vegas Review-Journal, http://www.lvrj.com

Source: Associated Press/AP Online

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