After 12-year-old’s death, changes planned for Las Vegas intersection

Officials with Las Vegas and North Las Vegas are making changes to an intersection where a 12-year-old boy was fatally struck in what police said was a hit-and-run crash, a spokesperson said Thursday.

The driver initially faced a DUI charge, but records show that the charge has since been dropped.

Flashing lights at Owens Avenue and 21st Street will be extended beginning Friday morning to ensure they are active during times students from nearby middle and elementary schools walk to and from school, city of Las Vegas media relations supervisor Jace Radke said in an email. The flashers were previously only active during times when Rancho High School students were walking to and from campus, Radke said.

Las Vegas officials also plan to install a traffic light at the intersection and expect that project to be completed sometime in 2026, according to Radke. Officials also will clean the intersection to make the crosswalk more visible for motorists and pedestrians.

Radke added that despite the tentative changes, drivers should still be alert when on the roadway.

“While the above safety enhancements are scheduled for the intersection, the key variable is for drivers to take care and make safe choices on our roadways so that pedestrians are safe,” Radke said in an email.

The announcement comes days after 12-year-old Christofer Suarez, a student at nearby Smith Middle School in North Las Vegas, died after police said he was hit Friday by a driver who was arrested on suspicion of impaired driving and leaving the scene of a collision.

The suspect, Oh’Ryan Brooks, 27, remains in the Clark County Detention Center on $250,000 bail on charges of reckless driving resulting in death and failing to stop at the scene of a crash, according to online jail records. He is due back in court on Oct. 21, and prosecutors on Monday denied a charge of DUI resulting in substantial bodily harm, court records show.

The Clark County District Attorney’s office on Thursday could not immediately be reached to explain why the DUI charge was denied.

The Metropolitan Police Department said Brooks showed signs of impairment when officers found him at an apartment complex near the crash, according to his arrest report. Brooks also admitted that he took “a few hits” from a THC vape pen before the crash, police said.

Another CCSD student, Haylee Ryan, 12, died Tuesday after police said she was hit by a school bus while riding her bike near Lied STEM Academy in the northwest Las Vegas Valley.

Clark County School District Superintendent Jhone Ebert said at an event Tuesday that 84 students this year have been hit by a vehicle on their way to or from school, compared with 39 collisions at this time last year.

“Right now, we need immediate action with the community’s help to protect our children,” Ebert said Tuesday.

Contact Casey Harrison at charrison@reviewjournal.com. Follow @casey-harrison.bsky.social on Bluesky.