Ex-UNLV basketball recruit Zaon Collins pleads guilty in fatal crash

A former UNLV basketball prospect admitted guilt Thursday to charges related to a 2020 crash that killed a 52-year-old armed forces veteran in southwestern Las Vegas.

Zaon Collins consented to a deal in which he would plead guilty to misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter, serve 90 days in the Clark County Detention Center, pay a $1,000 fine, then serve up to three years of probation for felony reckless driving resulting in death or substantial bodily harm.

The case took a number of twists and turns over the past two and a half years, as prosecutors were unable carry a driving under the influence charge involving marijuana against Collins forward when police officers who conducted field sobriety tests on him at the crash scene “differed as to whether he was impaired,” Chief Deputy District Attorney Eric Bauman said.

“Nobody’s happy,” Bauman said in the courtroom hallway, after speaking by phone to Annmarie Echevarria, widow of victim Eric Echevarria, an Army and National Guard veteran and local school custodian who died in the Dec. 30, 2020, wreck with Collins’ car.

“She’s glad it’s over,” Bauman said of her reaction to the guilty pleas. “I mean, it’s closed, right? I’d say she’s of the same mind I am. We’re disappointed we couldn’t do more, but we understand why we can’t.”

The fatal collision happened at Fort Apache Road about six blocks south of Blue Diamond Road as Echevarria was making a left turn in his 2016 Hyundai Accent and was hit by a 2016 Dodge Challenger, driven by the then-19-year-old Collins at an excessive speed, according to Las Vegas police.

Collins was arrested on suspicion of DUI and reckless driving. An amount of marijuana slightly above the state’s legal limit was found in his system, but a grand jury declined to indict him for DUI while agreeing to indict him on the reckless driving charge.

A standout hoops star for Bishop-Gorman high school, Collins had recently signed a letter of intent to join UNLV’s basketball, squad but the opportunity was withdrawn in the wake of the fatal crash.

In court on Thursday, Collins replied “yes” to questions posed by District Judge Tara Clark Newberry about whether he understood the charges against him and ramifications of his guilty pleas, including his agreement to give up his right to appeal to a higher court.

On the reckless driving charge, he agreed to statements Newberry made that he acted with “willful and wanton disregard” for safety and property and “failure to exercise due care” while driving 85 mph in a 35 zone on Fort Apache at Furnace Gulch Avenue before the crash, “which caused the death of Eric Echevarria.”

For the misdemeanor manslaughter charge, Collins admitted he was unlawfully driving on a road to which the public has access and caused Echevarria’ death “through an act or omission that constitutes simple negligence.”

Newberry ruled that Collins must surrender to the detention center by 5 p.m. June 20 to start his 90-day sentence on the manslaughter conviction before serving the probation term.

He will be formally sentenced for reckless driving while still in custody in county jail on July 27.

Collins declined comment in the courtroom hallway after the proceeding.

Contact Jeff Burbank at jburbank@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0382. Follow him @JeffBurbank2 on Twitter.