LAS VEGAS (FOX5) — One week after 12-year-old Cristofer Suarez was hit and killed by a suspected impaired driver at the intersection of 21st and Owens, the City of Las Vegas has shared the timeline for some improvements coming to the area.
FOX5 reported Thursday that school zone flashers will remain flashing for an extended period on school days to reflect different start times for a nearby middle and elementary school. Previously, the flashers were only set to run to alert drivers for Rancho High School students crossing the street. The city is also planning to clean up the crosswalks at the intersection and will add a traffic light.
The new signal is expected to be installed in 2026, the city said Thursday. They announced the crosswalk cleanup will take place sometime next week. In addition, the city will address a so-called “implied crosswalk” going across Owens on the east side of the intersection by installing signs that instruct pedestrians not to cross there, and instead to use the marked crosswalks. Suarez was using the implied crosswalk last Friday when he was hit. Those new signs will go in at the same time the existing crosswalks get cleaned up for greater visibility.
A FOX5 crew went to the intersection on Friday morning and saw five volunteer crossing guards. Mothers of students going to nearby schools have joined the efforts of Walk Safely LV, which was founded after Arbor View High School senior McKenzie Scott was hit and killed just outside campus in May.
“I’m very happy, like almost in tears watching them keep their community safe,” Krista Holloway, who founded Walk Safely LV, told FOX5 Friday. “That’s what it’s about.”
Holloway has noticed slower and more responsible driving in the places she and other volunteers have taken up crossing guard responsibilities.
“They’re stopping, they’re paying attention, they’re saying thank you,” she said. “They’re so appreciative. And I heard the students say thank you. So this is what we’ve got to do.”
Copyright 2025 KVVU. All rights reserved.
