LAS VEGAS -- A string of serious accidents this past weekend left five people dead. So far, at least two of them have been tied to drinking and driving.
An accident at Rainbow Boulevard and Wigwam Avenue Sunday night involved six cars and left one person dead. Police say the driver of a Toyota SUV crossed from the northbound lane into the southbound lane crashing into several cars. The driver of one of the cars, 24-year-old Tyson Diver, died at the scene. The driver of the SUV, 33-year-old Veronica Arana, was booked on charges of driving under the influence resulting in death.
Also on Sunday, a 15-year-old boy sitting at a bus stop at Spring Mountain Road and El Camino Road was critically hurt when a driver plowed into him. Police say the driver, 26-year-old Noel Lardeo, failed a field sobriety test. She was arrested for DUI.
"Everybody thinks it cannot happen to me. It will not happen to me and then they can find out it can happen to any of us," Officer Martin Marcus with Metro Police said.
Metro Police say in the first month of the year there has been an increase in accidents over the same time last year. Metro says DUI arrests are on also up compared with the same time last year. So far, there have been 982 DUI arrests in Metro's jurisdiction compared with 818 last year.
Activists working to stop drunk driving try to get the message across that accidents impact everyone. They say DUI crashes have financial consequences beyond those involved in the crash.
"Drunk driving costs the state of Nevada more than billion dollars a year. That is a billion dollars a year," Sandy Heverly with Stop DUI said.
Last year, there were 20,000 DUI arrests in Nevada. Most of those arrests were in Clark County.
Noel Lardeo
