LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) – Three crashes over Memorial Day Weekend are raising concerns for drivers as the valley approaches the “100 Deadliest Days.”
The latest was a rollover crash involving a juvenile that happened around 7 p.m. at Durango and Charleston. Police said the car hit a bus stop, but there were no serious injuries.
“After the year that we’ve had so far, it’s a numbing experience,” said Erin Breen, director of the Road Equity Alliance Project. “It’s just like you have to steer yourself for the bad news first thing, so this morning there were two pieces of bad news.”
Early Sunday morning, a two-car crash on the I-215 and Jones claimed the life of one woman and injured two other people.
Then, around 8 a.m., a boy was hit by a car while crossing the street in a marked crosswalk at Desert Inn and La Canada. He’s now in critical condition at the hospital.
“The worst days you have are the days when a crash involves a young person,” said Breen.
Metro police are still trying to identify the boy who was hit, described as an 11 to 14-year-old Black child, wearing a blue shirt, tan pants, and roller skates.
”He was on roller skates, which means he was going that much faster,” said Breen. “When we see kids on wheels, they don’t understand that the faster they’re going, the more time a driver needs to see them and stop.”
These crashes happened just before the start of the “100 Deadliest Days” of the year, or the time between Memorial Day and Labor Day when Breen says the vast majority of fatal crashes involving teens happen.
CCSD Police Lt. Bryan Zink said Friday, “We’re at 131 fatalities across the state. I think we’re at 79 in Clark County, and we’re not even halfway through the year yet, so that’s a very sobering number.”
“It’s just such little simple things: pay attention, wear your seatbelt, be sober. Those are not hard things,” said Breen, “but yet, we keep failing over and over and over again, and our numbers are through the roof, so I’m frightened to see what’s going to happen over the summer.”
Local organization Zero Fatalities is partnering with Lyft this weekend to get you to your destination safely. Now through Tuesday morning, you can use the Lyft code “SAFEMEMORIALDAY” to get $20 off of one ride.
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