A 24-year-old Gardnerville man was killed early Tuesday when the car he was speeding in crashed into a parked flatbed truck in the 1300 block of Leonard Drive.

The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office identified the driver as David Bower Love II. He was the sole occupant of the vehicle.

According to the sheriff’s office, Love was driving a 2003 4-door Dodge sedan eastbound on Leonard Drive at a high speed shortly after midnight when he apparently lost control and struck the GM flatbed truck.

Undersheriff Paul Howell said prior to the accident Love was observed by a sheriff’s deputy traveling on Tillman Lane at 60 to 70 mph in excess of the posted 25-mph limit.

He said the deputy was not pursuing the vehicle when the crash occurred.

“Our deputy was in an alleyway off Tillman when he saw a car bullet by,” Howell said. “He was trying to find the vehicle when he saw a flash of light in the sky. It must have been the car impacting as it hit the truck.”

He said Love may have been taking alcohol and prescription drugs prior to the accident.

“We have to wait toxicology reports to determine if it was to the extent that it impaired his driving. He was coming from a friend’s house and it appears he consumed alcohol just prior to the accident,” Howell said.

Love had three prior arrests for reckless driving, reckless driving and eluding an officer and passing in a no-passing zone, according to Howell.

The accident is under investigation by the Nevada Highway Patrol.