TSA worker killed in alleged DUI crash remembered as ‘humbled, loving’
The sister of a Las Vegas man killed in an alleged DUI crash last month said her family is still reeling after their sudden loss.
In the early-morning hours of Nov. 29, Abraham Ibale was traveling to work at Harry Reid International Airport when the motorcycle he was riding was struck by pickup truck at Tropicana Avenue and Mountain Vista Street in Las Vegas.
Ibale, 45, a longtime Transportation Security Administration employee, was pronounced dead at the scene just before 4 a.m. that day, about 15 minutes after the crash was reported.
Abigail Ibale, Abraham’s 42-year-old sister, said her family has taken the loss hard.
“My brother was a very humble, loving person,” Ibale said. “Our dad passed away in 2022, so this whole thing has really affected my family.”
The driver of the 2018 Chevrolet pickup that struck Abraham Ibale, later identified as Eric Villazana, had failed to yield to Ibale at the intersection, which led to the crash, according to a crash report.
Villazana, who left the scene of the crash, became the target of the Metropolitan Police Department’s investigation into the crash after detectives traced a truck they saw on different surveillance camera footage to an apartment complex less than two miles from the crash scene, according to a Metro arrest report.
He was later arrested and charged with DUI resulting in death and failing to stop at the scene of a crash, both felonies, and failure to obey colored lights or lighted arrows, according to online Las Vegas Justice Court records.
Charges should ‘be more’
Villazana was booked into the Clark County Detention Center this month and had an initial court appearance on Tuesday, according to court records.
He’s due to appear before Las Vegas Justice of the Peace Joe Bonaventure on Dec. 30, records show.
Abigail Ibale said she believes Villazana, 33, should have received more serious charges.
“To me, it’s murder or, at the least, manslaughter,” Ibale said. “(Villazana) knew what he did. I think his charges should be more than what was given.”
According to the arrest report, Villazana had visited a Las Vegas tavern on North Decatur Boulevard in the hours leading up to the crash.
Detectives found that video surveillance from the bar and further investigation showed that Villazana and a woman were each served “five or six beers and a mixed drink” and stayed at the bar for about three hours after arriving just after 11 p.m. on Nov. 28.
The woman with Villazana that night before the crash was not in the truck at the time of the collision, according to the arrest report.
During that time, Villazana was scene on video “stumbling over his bar stool” and appeared to have an “unsteady gait.” When he left the bar, Villazana, Metro said, was seen on video walking “out the door with two beer glasses that still contained beer.”
The other drivers
Abraham Ibale’s sister said he liked to ride his 2007 Yamaha R6 motorcycle, though family members sometimes worried about his safety while driving.
“He was experienced, so he wasn’t a new rider, but it’s the other drivers here in Vegas that are the problem, I think,” Abigail Ibale said. “I know my brother would usually avoid riding his motorcycle during busy hours. It’s really the other drivers here that are the problem, not the motorcycle driver.”
She said her brother had worked for the TSA for about 17 years, the past four or so as a supervisor. A GoFundMe page set up to raise funds for funeral costs and other expenses had raised nearly $20,000 as of Wednesday morning.
“The TSA community, I don’t know how many of them knew my brother, but they have really stepped up to help and we appreciate that,” Abigail Ibale said. “We just don’t know why this had to happen to us.”
Abigail Ibale said she hopes that people think before they get behind the controls of a vehicle and take to the street if they’ve been consuming alcohol or drugs.
“If you’ve had a drink or two, don’t drive,” she said. “If you can Uber or something, it’s pretty common sense stuff. People still do it and think it’s all right.”
Contact Bryan Horwath at bhorwath@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BryanHorwath on X.
