Woman’s death in wrong-way crash on I-15 ruled a suicide

A woman’s death days before Christmas, in what authorities previously described as a “violent” wrong-way crash on Interstate 15, was a suicide, according to the Clark County coroner’s office.

At the time, it was the latest in a spate of fatal wrong-way crashes in the Las Vegas Valley since November.

The woman, previously identified as 23-year-old Cecily Coreen Camarena of Las Vegas, died Dec. 21 of multiple blunt force injuries at the site of the crash, between Jean and Sloan. The cause and manner of her death were released Monday by the coroner’s office.

Around 10 p.m. on Dec. 21, Camarena was driving south in the northbound lanes of I-15 when she hit a tractor-trailer head-on, the Nevada Highway Patrol said. The crash was so “violent,” trooper Travis Smaka said at the time, that efforts to extract Camarena’s body from the car continued into early Dec. 22.

It is the only death involving a wrong-way crash since November that the coroner’s office has ruled a suicide, although one fatality remains under review.

Warning signs

Signs of suicide can include changes in conversation, behavior and mood, according to the American Association of Suicidology.

If a person talks about being a burden to others and feeling trapped; if a person starts acting recklessly or withdrawing from friends, family and activities; if a person starts experiencing rage, anxiety or a loss of interest — among other factors — reach out to the person or seek help.

For more information, visit suicidology.org/resources/warning-signs. The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, 1-800-273-8522, provides access to trained telephone counselors, 24/7.

Contact Rio Lacanlale at rlacanlale@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0381. Follow @riolacanlale on Twitter.