UPDATE AUG. 5: The Clark County Coroner has identified the two 16-year-old victims killed during a suspected DUI crash on Monday night as Citlali Mora and Nelly Amaya-Ramirez. Both were from Las Vegas. Their cause of death was blunt force injuries and their deaths have been ruled an accident. The coroner makes rulings based on the details of the incident and not on the legalities of the incident.
ORIGINAL STORY
LAS VEGAS (KTNV) -- Police officers say two 16-year-old girls have died after they were hit by a car in a suspected DUI crash while walking in a marked crosswalk in Las Vegas on Monday night.
The crash happened shortly after 7 p.m. in a crosswalk on Katie Avenue, near Twain Avenue and Maryland Parkway. Several vehicles were stopped at a red light at the intersection.
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Authorities say 38-year-old Ebone Whitaker was driving a car that left the roadway near the intersection and drove over a curb.
The car hit a traffic sign on the sidewalk and continued moving, police say, hitting the two teens in the crosswalk. The vehicle kept going until it hit a tree and a traffic signal pole on the southwest corner of the intersection, according to police.
Two nearby vehicles were hit by a tree that fell during the crash. No injuries were reported for those occupants.
Whitaker was transported to the hospital with serious injuries and police say she showed signs of being impaired.
One of the teens was pronounced dead at the scene, the other was transported to Sunrise Hospital where she died. The teens' identities will be released by the coroner following notification.
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Whitaker was charged by police with driving under the influence resulting in death.
The two deaths in this crash marked the 56th and 57th traffic-related deaths in the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department's jurisdiction for the year 2020.
The crash remains under investigation.
Area near the crash:
