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Toddler dies 2 weeks after crash; driver abandoned truck, police say

Updated March 5, 2023 - 4:31 pm

A 19-month-old girl died two weeks after a crash that police were calling a hit-and-run in the east Las Vegas Valley, and the driver involved in the crash still hasn’t been arrested, police said Sunday.

The child was a passenger along with a 9-year-old girl in a northbound Nissan Titan pickup truck driven by a 28-year-old man on Spanish Drive north of Spanish View Lane, near North Hollywood Boulevard and Stewart Avenue, at about 11:20 p.m. on Feb. 18, according to a Metropolitan Police Department news release.

The pickup truck drifted across the opposite lanes of traffic and onto the sidewalk before hitting a wall. The driver then took two children out of the vehicle and brought them to another location, police alleged.

Police didn’t say where that location was, but they did say that the driver left the pickup truck behind. The driver had also fled before police arrived at the second location.

The man hadn’t been arrested as of Sunday. His identity was still unknown, police said in their statement Sunday.

The critically injured 19-month-old toddler was taken by ambulance to University Medical Center. The second child was also taken to UMC, but with minor injuries.

The Clark County coroner’s office said Maya Escamilla, of Las Vegas, died Thursday at UMC from blunt force injuries.

The death is the 20th traffic-related fatality in Metro’s jurisdiction in 2023, police said.

The crash remained under investigation.

Police are urging anyone with information to call Metro’s collision investigation section at 702-828-3786.

Anonymous tips can also be given by phone to Crime Stoppers at 702-385-5555 or online at www.crimestoppersofnv.com.

Contact Brett Clarkson at bclarkson@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BrettClarkson_ on Twitter.

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