Woman booked on DUI charges ran red light in fatal crash, police say
A suspected DUI driver ran a red light on Tuesday and slammed into another vehicle, killing a female passenger, according to Las Vegas police.
Tara Russell, 43, is charged with DUI resulting in death, DUI resulting in substantial bodily harm and two reckless driving charges, according to jail records.
Las Vegas police were called to Rainbow Boulevard and Sahara Avenue at 1:19 a.m. Tuesday after reports of a crash. A 2018 Hyundai Tucson was heading through the green light when a Buick Lucerne driven by Russell crashed into its side, causing the Hyundai to overturn multiple times, according to the report.
The passenger in the Hyundai, identified in the report as Debbie Bass, 65, was pronounced dead at University Medical Center. The driver of the vehicle, 64-year-old Patrick Bass, was hospitalized with “severe” injuries. His condition was not known on Wednesday.
Russell was also taken to University Medical Center, where an officer “could smell the odor of an unknown alcoholic beverage coming from her breath,” according to her arrest report. She was booked in absentia at the Clark County Detention Center.
A surveillance video from the scene showed that the light had been red for 18 or 19 seconds before Russell’s vehicle entered the intersection, but her vehicle did not appear to slow until moments before the crash.
Russell’s initial court appearance was set for Wednesday.
Contact Jonah Dylan at jdylan@reviewjournal.com. Follow @TheJonahDylan on Twitter.
