Zaon Collins faces wrongful death lawsuit over fatal crash
Former UNLV basketball recruit Zaon Collins has been sued by the family of a man killed in a suspected DUI crash that landed the prospective player in jail last year.
The lawsuit, filed Nov. 29 in Clark County District Court, alleges wrongful death and negligence and seeks undisclosed punitive damages.
Collins had not responded to the lawsuit as of Friday, according to court records, and an attempt to reach him through his lawyers in the criminal case was not successful.
Eric Echevarria, 52, was driving to his southwest Las Vegas home on Dec. 30 when Collins, who was speeding in a 35 mph residential neighborhood, broadsided him with his Dodge Challenger, according to the Metropolitan Police Department.
Echevarria, a U.S. Army veteran and a revered Clark County School District custodian, died on the way to the hospital. Collins, 20, was booked on DUI and reckless driving counts after police found “a green leafy substance consistent with marijuana,” according to his arrest report.
The lawsuit was filed on behalf of Echevarria’s wife, Ann Marie Echevarria, and his son, Eric Echevarria Jr.
Collins’ lawyers in the criminal case, David Chesnoff and Richard Schonfeld, previously have accused Echevarria of causing the crash.
In a 43-page motion, the attorneys wrote that video capturing the moments of the crash showed Echevarria’s sedan attempting to turn between two vehicles.
“The video makes it clear that there was no room for Mr. Echevarria to turn without causing a collision,” the motion stated. “As a result, it was Mr. Echevarria that proximately caused the collision.”
Collins remains on house arrest under the condition that he not drink alcohol, consume drugs or drive, Las Vegas Justice Court logs show.
In March, a county grand jury declined to indict him on the DUI count, so prosecutors moved the case back to Las Vegas Justice Court, where Collins is next scheduled to appear Jan. 6 for “negotiations.”
Collins, who played point guard at Bishop Gorman High School, had signed a letter of intent to play basketball at UNLV, but that agreement was rescinded after he was charged in the crash.
Contact Ricardo Torres-Cortez at rtorres@reviewjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter @rickytwrites.
