Dog reunites with Las Vegas family after owner killed in 3-vehicle crash

Video credit: The Animal Foundation

UPDATE: Nakita and her seven puppies were reunited with their family and returned home two weeks after their owner was killed in a crash along US 95.

LAS VEGAS (KLAS) – A dog and her puppies will be reunited with her family after her owner was killed in a three-vehicle crash in Las Vegas.

It happened on April 12, shortly after 4:30 a.m. along U.S. 95 near Summerlin Parkway and the Rainbow Curve.

An off-duty Las Vegas Metropolitan police officer is accused of causing the crash that shut down the freeway for six hours, according to Nevada State Police.

David Kingsley, 79, was killed in the crash after witnesses told troopers that a driver of a Jeep, later identified as off-duty Metro police officer Ben Coreas, struck the rear of a silver Toyota, which ended up on the Summerlin Parkway off-ramp. Coreas overcorrected and overturned on the freeway and that is when Kingsley’s car then hit him, police said.

In a recent interview, Kingsley’s family told 8newsnow.com that he was on his way to a dog park with Nakita just before 5 a.m. when the crash occurred.

After the crash, Nakita the dog was found uninjured and taken by The City of Las Vegas Animal Protection Services and then taken to The Animal Foundation.

Nakita then gave birth to seven puppies.

Following the crash, The City of Las Vegas decided to hold the dogs there because it stated that the family wasn’t licensed to breed and the dog wasn’t spayed yet.

On Tuesday, The City of Las Vegas decided to return Nakita to her family.

The Animal Foundation released a statement on its Twitter page which read in part, “Due to the age of the puppies, it was in the mother’s and the puppies’ best interest to stay together. In situations like this, the outcome of the dog and her puppies is determined by the City of Las Vegas Animal Protection Services.”

The Animal Foundation also stated that it would waive all fees associated with the dogs through its Keeping Every Person and Pet Together (KEPPT) program.

Coreas was arrested for suspected DUI and faces charges of DUI liquor, reckless driving, and failure to decrease speed and use due care, a city spokesperson confirmed to the 8 New Now Investigators following the incident.