Son killed, father critically injured in DUI crash, police say
Father and son pedestrians were struck, the son fatally, by a suspected impaired driver in southeast Las Vegas on Tuesday night.
A 2004 Pontiac Aztek driving north around 8 p.m. near the 1600 block South Nellis Boulevard struck the two men, whose names were not released, while they crossed the street near Winterwood Boulevard, according to a statement from the Metropolitan Police Department.
“The driver of the Pontiac attempted to swerve to avoid striking the pedestrians which resulted in the driver losing control of the Pontiac,” the statement read.
After striking the pedestrians, the driver, 32-year-old Justino Garcia-Avila, hit a streetlamp and a block wall. Police said he was not injured. He was later booked on two counts of reckless driving resulting in death or substantial bodily harm, impaired driving resulting in substantial bodily harm and DUI resulting in death.
The son, 21-year-old Christopher Michael Clarke, died at Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center, according to the Clark County coroner’s office.
The father, a 53-year-old man, was listed as critical condition Wednesday morning and remained at Sunrise, Metro said.
Contact David Wilson at dwilson@reviewjournal.com. Follow @davidwilson_RJ on Twitter. Contact Sabrina Schnur at sschnur@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0278. Follow @sabrina_schnur on Twitter. Review-Journal Metro intern Mark Credico contributed to this report.
