UPDATE: Officials release identity of Corvette driver killed in rollover

One man is dead following a rollover on northbound Interstate 15 about 4 miles north of Mesquite, Nevada, Jan. 13, 2015 | Photo courtesy of Arizona Department of Public Safety Sgt. John T. Bottoms, St. George News

MESQUITE, Nevada – Officials have released the identity of the man who died Tuesday evening after traveling at a high rate of speed on northbound Interstate 15 before leaving the roadway and rolling his yellow Chevrolet Corvette.

The driver has been identified as 64-year-old Kim C. Jensen of Beaver Dam, Arizona and Riverton, Utah.

One man is dead following a rollover on northbound Interstate 15 about 4 miles north of Mesquite, Nevada, Jan. 13, 2015 | Photo courtesy of Arizona Department of Public Safety Sgt. John T. Bottoms, St. George News
One man is dead following a rollover on northbound Interstate 15 about 4 miles north of Mesquite, Nevada, Jan. 13, 2015 | Photo courtesy of Arizona Department of Public Safety Sgt. John T. Bottoms, St. George News

Witnesses told police the man was traveling in excess of 100 mph before leaving the roadway about 4 miles north of Mesquite, Nevada, Arizona Department of Public Safety Sgt. John T. Bottoms said.

One witness told police she believed Jensen was traveling close to 150 mph when he passed her, causing her entire SUV to shake, Bottoms said.

Authorities have yet to determine why Jensen left the right shoulder of the road.

“There were no obstacles as far as we know in his path,” Bottoms said, “so we don’t know if he just drifted off the road and then lost control, but he rolled and was ejected and died at the scene from his injuries.”

The Corvette was completely destroyed and unrecognizable, Bottoms said. The man was the only occupant in the vehicle and no other vehicles were involved in the collision.

Bottoms said there was an odor of alcohol near the vehicle due to beer cans inside the car rupturing during impact and spraying alcohol all over the area where the car came to rest. Authorities said they don’t know at this time whether alcohol played a factor in the rollover or if the driver was intoxicated or impaired at the time of the collision.

Officials made notification to Jensen’s family Tuesday night.

This report is based on preliminary information provided by the authorities and may not contain the full scope of findings.

Related posts

Email: [email protected]

Twitter: @STGnews

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2015, all rights reserved.

Free News Delivery by Email

Would you like to have the day's news stories delivered right to your inbox every evening? Enter your email below to start!

28 Comments

  • Debbie January 14, 2015 at 8:06 am

    So sorry for this family’s loss. Prayers go out to them. RIP Kim Jensen. 🙁

  • mo ferguson January 14, 2015 at 8:43 am

    What is it with these late 50s-mid 60s year olds and their Corvettes? Can’t they seem to accept that they outgrew their youth at 45 years old? And these must be the same guys that ride around in their Corvettes with their 20-30 something blond girlfriends. Sugar daddies gone wild…..sheesh. Sad to see them perish for some flash-in-the-pants thrill ride.

    • Ashton Foy January 14, 2015 at 10:29 am

      First off, you know nothing about him so shut your damn mouth. Don’t talk about my family like that because you obviously have no idea what you are even talking about so keep your rude and disgusting thoughts to yourself. You should think about others before you post you inconsiderate p****! RIP KC, I love you.
      *Ed. ellipses

      • Evil Twins Mommy January 14, 2015 at 12:14 pm

        Sorry for your loss. But he obviously didn’t care enough about you or the rest of his family and friends to drive reasonably. The only good thing about this, is that he didn’t take anyone else with him. He sure put everybody on the road in danger.

        • Evil Twins Mommy January 14, 2015 at 3:16 pm

          ROFLMBO HEY EVERYONE THAT IDIOT….. MY EVIL TWIN IS SUCH A COWARD NOW HE SIGNS IN AS ME INSTEAD OF HIMSELF. LIKE THATS. GOING TO STOP ME FROM POSTING……. ROFLMBO

        • Evil Twins Mommy January 14, 2015 at 8:11 pm

          I’m still here stupid come sit on mommies lap so I can read you your favorite story.. The Smurfs go to Disneyland.. You little huggum wuggums

      • Evil Twins Mommy January 14, 2015 at 3:21 pm

        Ashton my sympathy to you and your family… by the way the other post that shows my name was posted by that idiot.. MY EVIL TWIN. he doesn’t like me

      • Chris January 14, 2015 at 4:02 pm

        If you can’t take the heat, you are the one who should keep your mouth shut. This is a news column, not an obituary. Mo Ferguson is perfectly within his rights to voice his opinion. The facts of this case reflect very poorly on your family member, and you would do well to keep your badly reasoned thoughts to yourself.

  • Rob January 14, 2015 at 9:16 am

    No, don’t be too harsh. This was my pet peeve as a kid in 1962: how come the old guys had the cool rides?!? Turns out they are the ones that have the money to buy, insure, and operate hot cars.

  • barb January 14, 2015 at 9:48 am

    Wow mo ferguson ur an a**
    *Ed. ellipses

    • mo ferguson January 14, 2015 at 10:52 am

      BARB, so sorry if you are offended. You must be one of those 20-30 somethings. Who’s your sugar-daddy?

      • chupacabra January 14, 2015 at 2:32 pm

        Mo, I can’t imagine the great fulfillment you must feel whilst trolling along, trolling, trolling, trolling along.

  • Mary January 14, 2015 at 10:33 am

    Given how often this happens , GM should have a good roll bar design built into the vehicle ,
    Unless the guys are buying them AS a suicide car ?

  • even I wouldn't go there January 14, 2015 at 11:09 am

    Mo, you might want to attend a class on how not to be an a**hole. The the drivers family, may he rest in peace. I’m glad nobody else was hurt.

    • Shelly January 14, 2015 at 6:23 pm

      I agree with you, Even I Wouldn’t Go There, and I think BunnyRabbit should go with Mo to class. They make a good pair, seem to have a lot in common.

      • Evil Twins Mommy January 14, 2015 at 7:04 pm

        Yeah they would make perfect class mates

  • arts and letters January 14, 2015 at 11:43 am

    Man, this got ugly fast.

  • arts and letters January 14, 2015 at 11:47 am

    I didn’t know this man or his family. But I do know that driving like this any place but the Salt Flats under any circumstance is not acceptable. I’m sorry for the family’s loss, but very glad we don’t have to be sorry for any one else’s loss after being hit by a car going over 100 miles an hour – maybe faster.

  • mo ferguson January 14, 2015 at 12:46 pm

    Actually, I am glad that none of this drivers family WAS with him. I’ll bet they are too. I will agree that this was a tragedy and am sorry that he perished. But people of all ages make decisions that negatively impact others. Including their family(s). It all comes down to personal decisions. Just glad no other drivers were involved.

  • BunnyRabbit2015 January 14, 2015 at 12:54 pm

    well, ‘mo ferguson’ is right on the mark with this one… like it or not. another reckless driver is off the road and we’re all a little safer

  • Floyd Kitchen January 14, 2015 at 3:52 pm

    What a lot of the problem is and it is a Fact. These people are super good people and worked hard all there lives in jobs and raising Children. When they retire they have to money to afford the toys they have always wanted through there lives. Vettes, Harleys, Etc. They go out and are not acquainted with the respective toy and end up crashing and killing themselves. It happens all over the country. It is sad that our baby Bookers go through this but it happens. They are not bad people. They are loved people for the most part. They just don`t take there time and get to know there toy well enough. Reckless might be the issue or just plain in a hurry to take it to the limit. RIP Brother. I think it is important to respect that part. Thank goodness no one else was hurt or killed.

    • Evil Twins Mommy January 14, 2015 at 8:32 pm

      baby Bookers????????????

    • arts and letters January 14, 2015 at 8:41 pm

      A guy who drives over 100 mph on a public highway is not somebody who doesn’t understand the machine. Get a grip and stop making excuses. This is pure and simple reckless driving that endangers others. If these drivers want to “take it to the limit” take it someplace besides a public highway. No respect for this kind of behavior. None.

    • My Evil Twin January 14, 2015 at 10:10 pm

      Right. These super good people are so super good that they are willing to kill anybody else who happens to be on the roadway, when they want to act like fools. Yep, sure are duper good people.

  • DealMaker January 14, 2015 at 6:17 pm

    This is sad, but it did seal the deal

  • a friend January 15, 2015 at 1:17 am

    First of all I would like to say shame on the people who posted rude, inconsiderate and just plain ignorant comments in regards to this very sad and tragic event.
    I am a friend of the driver of the vehicle and my prayers go out to his family for their loss. Yes, he was careless. Yes, he was driving too fast and had no regards for any other drivers on the road that night. Thank goodness no one else was involved in the accident and that he was traveling alone. I know he did not like to wear his seatbelt and going at that high rate of speed I don’t think one would of done him a bit of good anyhow.
    I also live in Beaver Dam arizona and I also drive a yellow corvette (mine convertible). It is a beautiful and fun car to own and drive. I love the power it has, but I also have respect for it. I don’t go hot rodding around, nor would I endanger my life or anyone elses on the road by driving at such a high rate of speed. I received numerous calls this morning because so many people that I know thought that it was me that was killed in that accident. I even drove by it last night and could not even make out what kind of vehicle it was. There was nothing left of it. It’s a eerie feeling and eventhough I consider myself a safe driver, this horrible ordeal has made me that much more aware of my driving and everyone elses around me.

  • Dolly January 16, 2015 at 2:32 pm

    Choices and consequences. He made his choice and took the consequences. A shame some folks don’t think about “what if”. No one knows if he would have survived if he had been wearing a seatbelt. The seatbelt was just 1 more of the poor man’s unwise choices, besides excessive speed. I’m sad for his family because they, not he, are now suffering the consequences of his choices.

  • Joe Jensen January 18, 2015 at 11:54 pm

    This is Joe Jensen. The son of the man that past that night. All of you inconsiderate people that are posting comments on this tragic event. First of all none of you know what happened that night so why don’t you keep your comments to yourself. He was wearing his seat belt. What happened is a dip in the road is what caused him to go airborne alright. Also the airbags did not go off in the vehicle. This man has been an expert driver and knows his machine top to bottom. So do not tell me about my own father. Yes I’m glad no one else was hurt, and no one was with him at the time. So for you worthless trollears that have nothin better to do but comment on an accident that you know nothing about.. …*. Thank you. I would appreciate and advise anyone else that has any negative comments to say about this… keep it to yourself. Have a goodnight.
    Ed. ellipsis: …*

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.