Police: Suspect in fatal North Las Vegas crash drove 82 mph
The man suspected of killing a mother of four and injuring her son and husband in North Las Vegas on Christmas Eve was driving more than double the posted 35 mph speed limit when he plowed into their vehicle, police documents show.
Rigoberto Chavez-Solorzano, 41, faces three counts of reckless driving resulting in death or substantial bodily harm in the crash at East Lake Mead Boulevard and Palmer Street, in which he “only sustained bruising to the chest area,” traffic investigators wrote in his two-page arrest report.
Maribel Aleman, 41, was ejected through the family vehicle’s rear window and died at the scene of blunt-force injuries. Her 13-year-old son was taken to University Medical Center with critical injuries, and the father was hospitalized with injuries that were not life-threatening.
Attempts to reach family members were unsuccessful.
Investigators found the odometer in Chavez-Solorzano’s vehicle froze at the time of impact, revealing a speed of 82 mph.
North Las Vegas police have said Aleman was in the passenger seat. Their son was seated in the back.
Police said Aleman’s husband was making a left turn about 12:30 p.m. onto Palmer Street, a small private drive, at the same time Chavez-Solorzano was speeding east on Lake Mead.
When he hit the passenger side of the family’s car, it “immediately and violently rotated in a clockwise direction,” the report states.
By about 4:50 p.m., Chavez-Solorzano had been released from University Medical Center, where officers took him into custody, the report shows.
According to a GoFundMe campaign created by her nephew, Martin Prado, Aleman leaves behind her husband and four children, Melissa, Alexander, Danny and Ibeth.
An update posted Wednesday said Alexander was recovering from surgery but was unable to move his neck and was suffering from pain in his lower back. His injuries included a broken wrist and multiple broken toes.
The father “is feeling better but not able to move around much,” the update stated.
Court records show Chavez-Solorzano has a history of speeding. In 2012, he was charged with speeding 21 to 30 mph over the posted speed limit in Moapa. In 2017, he faced the same charge again twice — once in Las Vegas and once in North Las Vegas. And his latest infraction came in September, when he was cited for speeding 1 to 10 mph over the posted speed limit.
His preliminary hearing is scheduled for Jan. 10 in North Las Vegas Justice Court, records show.
Contact Rio Lacanlale at rlacanlale@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0381. Follow @riolacanlale on Twitter.