A 73-year-old La Quinta man was killed in a traffic collision Tuesday evening in Landers. According to the California Highway Patrol, the man, who has not yet been identified by the coroner, was driving a 2004 PT Cruiser westbound on Reche Road at about 45 to 55 miles per hour at 5:30 p.m. The CHP says that as he approached the intersection with Old Woman Springs Road, he failed to stop for the stop sign and drove straight into the side of a 2002 Nissan Titan that was being driving southbound on Old Woman Springs Road by Vathana Khanmanivanh, 38, of Banning. The front of the Nissan struck the right front of the PT Cruiser; the Nissan rolled over onto its right side, and both vehicles came to a stop on the west side of Old Woman Springs Road, south of Reche Road. The driver of the PT Cruiser was killed instantly; Khanmanivanh was cut free of the wreckage by firefighters and he was taken to Desert Hospital in Palm Springs with major injuries. Both men were the sole occupants and were seat belted into their vehicles. The cause of the collision is under investigation.
