Illegal street race ends with spectacular crash, 1 arrest
An illegal street race in the west Las Vegas Valley ended in a spectacular crash that left three cars destroyed and debris scattered a quarter-mile down the road, police said.
The Metropolitan Police Department on Wednesday posted a series of tweets about the Monday night crash at West Flamingo and South Fort Apache roads.
The tweets included photos of the crash, which shows one of the cars torn apart and laying on its roof in a strip mall parking lot, a stray tire nearby. Other photos show two other heavily damaged vehicles in the intersection and an obliterated bus stop.
“I arrived on the scene and located chaos,” one unnamed officer was quoted as saying in one Metro’s tweets.
Nobody died in the crash. But one person was taken to a local hospital, police said.
Joshua Daya, 25, was arrested on suspicion of multiple charges, including reckless driving, participating in a speed contest and disregard for the safety of a person and property.
According to Metro, dispatchers starting getting 911 calls at about 8:55 p.m. Monday about a crash involving as many as seven vehicles.
“There was vehicle debris for approximately a quarter-mile down the roadway, white smoke coming from a transformer, 3 vehicles with major damage, airbags deployed and multiple other vehicles with minor to moderate damage,” another officer was quoted as saying in the tweets.
A Corvette C8 and a Toyota Supra were racing at speeds of over 100 mph, witnesses said, according to Metro. The cars blew through a red light and crashed, police said.
Police used the crash to highlight Metro’s Racing Apprehension and Intervention Detail, or the RAID Unit, which specifically targets street racing and other forms of dangerous driving.
In a recent interview with the Review-Journal, Sheriff Joe Lombardo touted the unit’s work since its introduction in March 2022.
Since then, Lombardo said in early October, RAID had made 119 arrests, issued 144 citations, towed 149 vehicles and seized 17 firearms.
“DO NOT race on our roads,” said one of Wednesday’s tweets from Metro. “This easily could have ended someone’s life.”
Contact Brett Clarkson at bclarkson@reviewjournal.com or 561-324-6421. Follow @BrettClarkson_ on Twitter.
