LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Two drivers are accused of reckless driving resulting in death after a three-vehicle collision that critically injured a 33-year-old man early Monday morning.
The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department says its investigation began at 1:04 a.m. at the intersection of north Eastern Avenue and Searles Avenue.
One of the drivers facing charges is still hospitalized in critical condition as of this report, according to an initial statement on the collision from LVMPD.
Police identified the drivers as 18-year-old Francisco Ruiz Ramos, Jr. and 18-year-old Alfredo Chavez Rios. Both are accused of reckless driving resulting in death or substantial bodily harm, according to police.
The driver who was killed was traveling westbound on Searles Avenue in a 1999 Chevrolet Tahoe before the crash, police stated. Ramos, driving a 2011 RAM 2500, and Rios, driving a 2020 GMC Sierra, were both said to be traveling southbound on Eastern Avenue "at a high rate of speed."
The RAM hit the passenger side of the Chevy, then overturned and hit a light pole and a power utility pole, police said. The Chevy was then hit from behind by the GMC Sierra, police added.
Ramos and the driver of the Chevy were transported to University Medical Center's trauma center for advanced medical attention. Despite medical intervention, police say the driver of the Chevy was pronounced dead at UMC.
Police noted the driver of the GMC, whom they identified as Rios, remained at the scene and did not show signs of impairment. He sustained minor injuries in the collision, they noted.
The driver who died from his injuries had not been publicly identified as of this report. Police say his death marks the 101st traffic-related fatality in LVMPD's jurisdiction in 2024.
They also add that their investigation into the collision is ongoing.
