Henderson approves $225K settlement for family of teen killed in 2022 crash
Henderson city officials on Tuesday approved a settlement agreement with the family of a 13-year-old boy who was fatally struck outside a Henderson middle school in 2022.
In a unanimous vote approving a number of measures in Tuesday’s City Council meeting, Henderson Mayor Michelle Romero and the city’s four council members OK’d the $225,000 settlement with the parents and estate of Rex Patchett. The settlement will resolve the city’s involvement in a 2023 civil lawsuit filed by Patchett’s family seeking monetary damages, according to a summary of the agreement included in Tuesday’s meeting agenda.
Rex Patchett died March 7, 2022, near Mannion Middle School, at East Paradise Hills Drive and Greenway Road in Henderson, after he was struck by a 2006 Ford Mustang being driven by then-22-year-old Jose Marmolejo. Police at the time said Marmolejo was traveling more than 90 miles per hour when he lost control of the vehicle and struck a curb, causing it to continue onto the sidewalk until crashing into Patchett.
Marmolejo pleaded guilty in October 2022 to a felony charge of reckless driving, and was sentenced in 2023 to six years in prison with the possibility of parole after two years.
The lawsuit alleged that the city of Henderson’s “negligent maintenance of a public access road and failure to warn potential drivers of a known hazardous condition” resulted in Rex Patchett’s death. But the terms of the settlement is not an admission of liability or wrongdoing, according to Tuesday’s agenda.
City officials did not discuss specifics of the settlement at the meeting, and a spokesperson for the city declined further comment.
District Court online records showed the case was still open but that a tentative settlement was agreed to April 16. The suit was filed in November 2023 by the estate of Rex Patchett and his parents Jason and Samantha Patchett, and, in addition to the city, listed Marmolejo and passenger Gabrielle Young as defendants.
Tuesday’s agenda also stated that each party is responsible for litigation costs, and it was not immediately clear whether other defendants were involved in the settlement. Attorneys for Marmolejo, Young and the Patchett family could not be reached. Jason Patchett declined to comment.
The Patchetts’ suit further alleged that Young and other passengers in Marmolejo’s car “urged and/or encouraged” him to drive in a “dangerous, negligent, and/or reckless manner.” The suit also sought to reclaim damages from the Clark County School District as well, but a motion to dismiss the school district from the case was granted by Judge Joanna Kishner in March 2024.
Following a push by the Patchett family to reform traffic safety laws, Gov. Joe Lombardo signed into law in 2023 a bill that was dubbed “Rex’s Law.” The law increases fines and possible sentences for motorists speeding excessively and people found guilty of reckless driving resulting in death or substantial bodily harm in school or pedestrian safety zones.
Contact Casey Harrison at charrison@reviewjournal.com. Follow @Casey_Harrison1 on X or @casey-harrison.bsky.social on Bluesky.