LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — The Christmas holiday was marked by a deadly wave of car crashes on Las Vegas roads.
The Clark County coroner has released the identities of four of the five people killed within a 12-hour period starting Sunday afternoon.
At 1:25 p.m. Sunday, police say two people died in a multi-vehicle collision on Charleston Boulevard near Nellis Boulevard.
They've since been identified as Jeff Manalo, 40, and Melinda Manalo, 65, two residents of Las Vegas. Both died from blunt force injuries, a medical examiner determined, and their deaths were ruled accidental.
Police said the crash left seven people in three additional vehicles with minor injuries.
Police said the car ran through a red light, then the driver lost control of the vehicle somehow, but witnesses say they lost control by swerving to avoid hitting a jaywalker. An issue that people living in the area say happens all the time.
"It was a few hours after the accident, the roads were still blocked off," said Kacie Alder who lives near the Charleston and Nellis Boulevard intersection. "We went on the detour that it was instructed as and when we turned back onto Charleston, not even 20 feet from the intersection, there was another pedestrian in traffic that we had to slam on our breaks and avoid.”
While Channel 13 was near the crash site Tuesday, reporter Ryan Ketcham was approached by a woman who swerved around a jaywalker herself and was hit by another car.
Later Sunday evening, a pedestrian would be hit and killed by a car in the area of Lamb Boulevard and Judson Avenue.
The driver was arrested on DUI-related charges, police said previously. On Tuesday, the coroner's office wasn't able to release the identity of the pedestrian who was killed.
“It’s so frustrating because it just didn’t have to happen," said STOP DUI Executive Director Sandy Heverly. "There are so many alternatives up out there that people could usually, they don’t have to drive under the influence.”
STOP DUI, a nonprofit organization working to stop these crimes from happening, wants to see a change to increase the penalty of a DUI. Some in the community also want to see a change in penalties for jaywalking.
A DUI is a misdemeanor charge in Nevada, depending on the offense. For the first offense, a driver can face two to six months in jail, a fine between $400 - $1,000, several fees associated with driver's license charges, DUI school and more.
The penalties increase for subsequent DUI offenses.
Jaywalking is just a violation though, there is a fine of no more than $100 and no jail time. In Nevada, jaywalking used to be a misdemeanor charge where people could face jail time and up to $1,000 in fines, but that was changed in 2021.
Just before 12:30 a.m. Christmas morning, Nevada State Police were called to a single-vehicle rollover crash on Interstate 11 near Horizon Drive.
31-year-old Leyanis Diaz Martinez died as a result of the crash, the coroner's office confirmed on Tuesday. State police said the crash sent one other person to an area hospital with serious injuries.
Just about 20 minutes later in another part of the valley, Las Vegas police were investigating another fatal collision involving a Mercedes-Benz sprinter van and a motorcycle. That crash happened on Dean Martin Drive near Ponderosa Way.
The 26-year-old motorcyclist who was pronounced dead on scene has since been identified as Matthew M. Hansen.
That crash marked the 153rd traffic-related fatality in the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department's jurisdiction so far this year.
Police are still investigating these crashes. We will work to bring you the latest in the investigations.
