Second cyclist dies after alleged DUI crash near UNLV

A second cyclist has died after an alleged DUI driver struck two bicyclists and caused a 10-vehicle pileup in a cocaine and marijuana-fueled rampage on East Flamingo Road near UNLV last week, police said.

The Metropolitan Police Department announced the death on Wednesday.

According to a Metro arrest report, Marcos Francisco Benitez, 27, of Las Vegas, also had a suspended driver’s license and no insurance on his vehicle, and cocaine and marijuana was also found in samples taken of his blood, police said.

Benitez was driving a 2002 Ford Explorer Sport Trac on East Flamingo Road just after 5:30 p.m. Friday when his alleged impaired driving unleashed a spate of collisions that would result in the death of Karina Del Carmen Lopez, 37, at the scene and the hospitalization and death of a 36-year-old man who has not yet been publicly identified.

According to the arrest report, Benitez was driving east on Flamingo toward Cambridge Road when he struck a Kia Sorrento from behind. The driver of the Kia, identified as Kowancky Claymont, 72, of Las Vegas, stopped his car but Benitez kept driving, police said. Claymont suffered minor injuries, police said.

Police also would later speak to a driver who was behind Benitez. This driver, who had a dashcam video device, told police he saw Benitez swerving on Flamingo before hitting the Kia Sorrento, briefly stopping, then continuing on to hit the cyclists, who were thrown from their bikes onto the road.

But Benitez kept going, according to the arrest report. At the intersection with Maryland Parkway, where multiple cars were stopped, he “crashed into the stopped vehicles causing a ten-vehicle collision pile-up trapping Benitez and his Ford from continuing east,” the arrest report alleged.

Clark County Fire Department crews had to extricate a trapped Benitez from his driver’s seat.

Benitez, the driver of the Kia, the driver of a Dodge Journey and the injured cyclist were all taken to Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center.

Not including Benitez or the two cyclists, six other drivers ranging in age from 19 to 72 suffered minor to moderate injuries in the incident.

At the hospital, blood samples taken from Benitez showed the presence of cocaine and marijuana in his system, the arrest report stated.

Benitez was arrested on multiple DUI-related counts at the hospital. Court records show he is facing two counts of DUI resulting in death, among other charges.

Benitez’s next court appearance was scheduled for Thursday morning, court records show.

The deaths of the cyclists were the 127th and 130th traffic-related fatalities in Metro’s jurisdiction in 2022, police said.

Contact Brett Clarkson at bclarkson@reviewjournal.com or 561-324-6421. Follow @BrettClarkson_ on Twitter.