Driver in fatal northwest valley crash faces DUI, reckless driving charges
A Las Vegas woman has been charged with driving under the influence and reckless driving following a Monday afternoon crash that killed a 53-year-old Las Vegas woman in the northwest valley.
Las Vegas police said a 2001 Mercedes-Benz driven by Marsha Stewart Byrd, 61, of Las Vegas, was traveling westbound on Tropical Parkway on an unimproved shoulder at an excessive rate of speed when the driver tried to re-enter the single westbound travel lane. Police said Stewart Byrd lost control of the vehicle, which then crossed the center line and struck a 2006 Toyota Camry headed east on Tropical, near East Torrey Pines Drive.
The driver of the Toyota, 53-year-old Gilma Rodriguez-Walters, was taken to University Medical Center, where she died. The Clark County coroner’s office on Tuesday afternoon said her death was ruled an accident.
After impact, police said the Mercedes-Benz flipped and came to rest against a chain link fence.
“The driver of the Mercedes-Benz was suspected of being impaired by investigating officers,” police said in a news release.
Police said Stewart Byrd received medical treatment and was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence and reckless driving. Clark County Detention Center records show a woman was booked at the jail on Tuesday on the same charges under the name Marsha Stewart.
Rodriguez-Walters’ death was the 112th traffic-related fatality investigated by Las Vegas police this year.
Contact Glenn Puit at gpuit@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0390. Follow @GlennatRJ on Twitter. Review-Journal staff writer Katelyn Newberg contributed to this report.
