UPDATE FEB. 19: Nevada Highway Patrol has released the booking photo of Ciera Brawer, arrested by NHP on suspicion of DUI in connection to the deadly wrong-way crash on Jan. 17 on the Airport Connector and I-215.
Brawer is expected to appear in court on March 2 for her preliminary hearing.
UPDATE JAN. 24: The Clark County coroner has identified the person killed in the fatal wrong-way crash on the airport connector as 45-yr-old Christopher Garcia from las Vegas.
Cause of death was blunt force trauma/accident.
UPDATE JAN. 23: The arrest report for Ciera Brawer has been released.
According to the release, Brawer initally told a Nevada Highway Patrol trooper at the scene that she had not been drinking. Upon arrival at UMC Trauma, a Las Vegas police officer asked her if she knew what happened. She reportedly responded "I was driving drunk and I hit someone" and "I think I was on the wrong side of the road, but I don't know." Brawer's speech was very slurred and she had a moderate odor of an unknown intoxicating beverage on her breath, according to the report. When asked how many she had, she said a "couple" and she had been drinking wine.
UPDATE 11 A.M. JAN 19: The 20-year-old woman accused by authorities of driving the wrong way on the Airport Connector on Friday while under the influence was granted $50,000 bail on Saturday, court records show. If she posts it, Ciera Brawer would have a 6 p.m. curfew, would need to comply with alcohol monitoring and would not be allowed to drive. As of Sunday morning she remains in custody, according to court records.
UPDATE 1:30 P.M. JAN 17: The Nevada Highway Patrol has identified the deceased as 45-year-old Christopher Garcia of Las Vegas. The wrong-way driver has been identified as 20-year-old Ciera Brawer.
Brawer has been arrested for suspicion of driving under the influence and has been formally charged with Driving under the Influence with Death Resulting (felony). She is currently receiving treatment for her injuries and no mugshot is available at this time.
This marks the Nevada Highway Patrol – Southern Command’s 2nd fatal crash resulting in 2 fatalities for 2020.
ORIGINAL STORY
Nevada Highway Patrol says a man is dead after a wrong-way crash around 2 a.m. Friday near the Las Vegas airport.
The crash happened in the northbound lanes of the Airport Connector. NHP Trooper Travis Smaka said during a press briefing that the driver, a woman in her 20s, was possibly impaired and advised drivers to take and rideshare or taxi if they've had too much to drink.
#TrafficAlert: NB Airport Connector is shut down due to a wrong way fatal crash. 215 off ramps closed as well. @aliciapattillo is headed to the scene to gather more details. We’ll have the latest details @KTNV #GMLV pic.twitter.com/G9I969GK3T
— Nina Porciuncula (@NinaReports) January 17, 2020
The person who was killed is the driver, a man in his 40s, that the impaired driver hit. The impaired driver was transported to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
The northbound lanes of the Airport Connector near I-215 were closed for several hours, according to NHP. Motorists should seek alternate routes if they need to get to the airport.
TRAFFIC ALERT: All northbound lanes of the Airport Connector Tunnel are closed to allow emergency responders to address a fatal car accident. Drivers should avoid the area through 7:30 a.m. this Friday morning. 🚧🚑🚓
— McCarran Airport (@LASairport) January 17, 2020
The lanes reopened around 6:45 a.m.
There have been several wrong-way crashes in the Las Vegas valley over the last couple of months.
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