Driver told police she was drinking before fatal wrong-way crash
The driver in a fatal wrong-way crash this month near McCarran International Airport told Las Vegas police she had “a couple” glasses of wine before getting behind the wheel, according to an arrest report.
Ciera Brawer, 20, was driving a burgundy Chevrolet Cruze south in the northbound lanes of the airport connector tunnel around 2:15 a.m. Jan. 17 when she slammed into a white Audi head-on, killing 45-year-old Christopher Garcia, the report said.
Brawer was trapped in her vehicle when police arrived, but she was conscious and talking. Police said Brawer initially denied drinking but later confessed that she’d consumed alcohol earlier in the night.
She told police, “I was driving drunk and I think I hit someone. I think I was on the wrong side of the road but I don’t know.”
Police said she smelled like alcohol and that her speech was very slurred. She was hospitalized and required surgery for her injuries.
Brawer was arrested on one count of DUI resulting in death and booked into the Clark County Detention Center once she was released from the hospital. She is being held on $50,000 bail, and her next court date is set for Monday.
Contact Alexis Egeland at aegeland@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0335. Follow @alexis_egeland on Twitter.
