Impairment suspected in deadly wrong-way crash in southeast Las Vegas
A man accused of driving impaired was arrested following a wrong-way crash that killed a woman early Friday on U.S. Highway 95 in southeast Las Vegas, the Nevada Highway Patrol said.
A man driving a 2003 Hummer H2 was going the wrong direction on the highway when he slammed into 2012 Nissan Sentra near Russell Road, killing the female driver, Nevada Highway Patrol Trooper Travis Smaka said. The crash occurred about 1:45 a.m.
The Highway Patrol on Friday afternoon identified the woman as 58-year-old Susan Teves, of Las Vegas. The Clark County coroner’s office, which is closed on Fridays, has not officially identified her or her cause and manner of death.
The Hummer’s driver has been identified as 32-year-old Benjamin Ames, of Las Vegas.
He has been arrested on suspicion of DUI resulting in death, reckless driving resulting in death, failing to stop at the scene of an accident, driving the wrong way on a one-way road, failing to give information to a party at a vehicle accident, failing to report an unattended vehicle, failing to provide proof of insurance, failing to wear a safety belt, and a probation violation, the Highway Patrol said.
Smaka said Friday morning that Ames was taken to University Medical Center for treatment of minor injuries.
Several crashes in past 18 months
There has been a slew of wrong-way fatal crashes in Las Vegas in the last 18 months. A man was killed in late August in a wrong-way crash on the 215 Beltway in the west valley, and multiple wrong-way crashes have been reported in Southern Nevada. In 2019, a string of wrong-way crashes throughout the valley killed seven people.
“These early morning hours, late night hours, we are in a destination city where people have access 24/7 to alcohol and marijuana,” Smaka said. “With impaired driving we tend to have (wrong-way crashes).”
Teves’ death marked the 41st fatal crash investigated by the Highway Patrol’s southern command this year, the agency said.
Contact Glenn Puit by email at gpuit@reviewjournal.com. Follow @GlennatRJ on Twitter. Review-Journal staff writers Jannelle Calderon and Katelyn Newberg contributed to this report.
