Man killed in Ash Canyon rollover

A Carson City man was killed and another man injured in a vehicle rollover early Wednesday morning in Ash Canyon.

Eric Kvam, 23, was pronounced dead at the scene of the wreck 1.5 miles from Wellington West in the hills above the Ash Canyon water tower in West Carson City.

According to Sheriff Ken Furlong, Kvam was ejected as his 1985 Dodge Van rolled some 100 yards down a steep embankment.

Passenger Keaton Massey, 21, was believed to have been wearing a seatbelt and was able to escape the wreckage and walk a quarter mile while calling 911 for help from his cell phone.

A Care Flight helicopter landed in the canyon and Massey was taken to the trauma center in Reno with a possible broken arm and a head injury. Terri Hendry spokeswoman for the hospital Massey was discharged Wednesday morning.

Sgt. Jim Primka said the area where the van went down the embankment was off a narrow dirt road about a 15-minute drive through the hills.

Furlong and coroner Ruth Rhines notified Kvam's parents about 2:30 a.m.

His mother, Jean Kvam, was a long-time Carson City School teacher, former member of the Carson City School Board and had challenged Carson City Clerk Recorder Alan Glover for his seat in the 2010 election, but withdrew before the election.

On Wednesday afternoon, members of the Carson City Sheriff's Office Search and Rescue went to the scene to collect personal belongings to turn over to the coroner's office.

By late afternoon a memorial to Kvam had since sprung up near the wreckage.

The accident remains under investigation.