Unborn baby dies, child fighting for life after suspected DUI crash in south Las Vegas

An unborn child was fatally injured, and the pregnant woman and a 9-year-old suffered life-threatening injuries in a four-vehicle crash caused by a DUI suspect who ran a red light Saturday afternoon in south Las Vegas, according to the Metropolitan Police Department.

Maximiliano Chavez, 27, was booked into the Clark County Detention Center on six felony counts of DUI and reckless driving, according to jail records.

Court records show that bail on Sunday was set at $250,000.

The pregnant woman and the other child remained at University Medical Center in critical condition Sunday, police said.

Police responded to the crash about 2:20 p.m. on West Blue Diamond Road and Las Vegas Boulevard South.

The baby was “successfully delivered” through emergency surgery, but did not survive, police said.

“A mother lost a child that never had an opportunity to breathe,” Metro Lt. Cody Fulwiler said late Saturday. “That’s a mother who will never be able to hold her child.”

Chavez, who police said failed a sobriety test, also was taken to UMC with minor injuries.

He was in a Jeep Grand Cherokee that entered the intersection against a red light, police wrote in a news release.

Chavez, of Las Vegas, smashed into a Subaru Forester on east Windmill Lane that was carrying four people, including the pregnant woman, police said.

Each of the two vehicles then hit another vehicle turning left onto Las Vegas Boulevard, police said.

Police said nine other people in the four vehicles sustained minor injuries.

The baby was the 112th traffic fatality in Metro’s jurisdiction this year.

Police said the crash remained under investigation. Chavez, who had not posted bail Sunday afternoon, was due in court Tuesday.

Contact Bryan Horwath at bhorwath@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BryanHorwath on X. Contact Ricardo Torres-Cortez at rtorres@reviewjournal.com. Review-Journal social media manager Arlette Yousif contributed to this story.