Metro officer charged in connection with 3 hit-and-run crashes Saturday

A Metropolitan Police Department officer was arrested and is facing more than a dozen charges in connection with a series of hit-and-run crashes on Interstate 15 early Saturday.

Officer Antonio Munoz was pulled over on I-15 just after midnight while off-duty after a Nevada Highway Patrol officer spotted him committing minor traffic infractions, then noticed significant damage to Munoz’s white GMC Yukon, highway patrol spokeswoman Chelsea Stuenkel said.

According to the highway patrol, three different hit-and-run crashes happened shortly before Munoz was pulled over. The crashes happened on a brief stretch of northbound highway between the Sahara Avenue and Charleston Boulevard exits.

The first crash involved a man who was driving a red Buick when he was struck Saturday by another vehicle. The crash left him seriously injured, and he was taken to University Medical Center.

Shortly after the man’s vehicle was hit, at least one person in a nearby silver Acura was also struck by another vehicle, but no one in that car was seriously injured.

A third crash happened moments later, when a black Kia was also struck by another vehicle. At least one person in that car suffered minor injures, but no one needed to be taken to the hospital.

All three crashes appeared to have been caused by the same vehicle.

Munoz was pulled over just past the Charleston exit on the highway, near the Las Vegas Premium Outlets North mall, Stuenkel said. Because of Munoz’s proximity to the crashes, witness descriptions and the damage to his car, he was taken into custody on at least 15 different charges, two of which were felony driving under the influence causing substantial bodily harm and felony leaving the scene of a crash.

Munoz was treated at UMC on Saturday and booked into the Clark County Detention Center on Sunday. He was no longer in custody as of Monday afternoon.

Munoz has worked with Metro since September 2000, department spokeswoman Laura Meltzer said. He typically works out of the northeast valley Metro substation.

Munoz was off-duty at the time of the crash and has been off-duty since — technically on personal leave — but Meltzer said he will be relieved of duty without pay on Wednesday, when Munoz is due for his first court appearance. His charges will also be formalized Wednesday.

After that, Metro will conduct an internal investigation to determine whether Munoz will be formally fired. That investigation and determination are separate from the criminal investigation, Meltzer said.

Contact Rachel Crosby at rcrosby@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5290. Find @rachelacrosby on Twitter.