UPDATE: The driver accused of reckless driving in a crash that took the life of a teen also passed away from injuries. Keith Gardner, 47, died from blunt force injuries on March 5.
Officials have also identified the man killed Saturday as Travis River Jones, 19 of Fontana, California. His cause of death is listed as “blunt force trauma/accident.”
LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — A passenger in an SUV stopped at a red light in the south valley was killed late Saturday when the driver of speeding car crossed a median, causing a head-on crash, Metro police said.
The crash, which marked the 15th traffic-related fatality in the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department’s jurisdiction this year, happened just before 11 p.m. when a man in a 2012 Mercedes-Benz was driving north “at a high rate of speed” on South Maryland Parkway and approaching East Wigwam Avenue, police said in a news release.
The Mercedes crossed the concrete center median south of the intersection and its front end struck the front end of a 2023 Subaru Crosstrek that was stopped in the southbound lanes at a red light at the East Wigwam Avenue intersection, the release said.
After hitting the Subaru, the Mercedes continued northwest where it struck a metal light pole before stopping in Desert Bloom Park, police said.
Police said in the release they used video surveillance and evidence at the scene to generate a description of the crash.
The driver of the Mercedes, Keith Gardner, 47, of Las Vegas, had critical injuries and was taken by ambulance to Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center.
According to an online search of jail records, he is facing multiple charges of reckless driving resulting in substantial bodily harm.
Two passengers in the Subaru also were taken to Sunrise, where one, a Los Angeles man, 19, was pronounced dead. The other, Noah Martinez, 19, of Las Vegas, had what police called “substantial” injuries.
The identity of the passenger who died is pending family notification, the release said.
The driver of the Subaru, Bryce Blaz, 18, of San Dimas, California, remained at the scene and was treated by medical personnel for minor injuries, police said.
The crash remains under investigation by Metro’s collision investigation section.
