County to study traffic safety at Las Vegas intersection where 12-year-old died

Vehicles zoomed by Wednesday afternoon as people, young and old, visited a makeshift memorial at a Southwest Las Vegas Valley intersection, remembering a 12-year-old boy who was killed this week after being struck by a car crossing the busy road.

The volume and speed of those vehicles traveling on South Fort Apache Road near Arby Avenue was evidence enough that road safety needs to be addressed in the area, residents said.

Jonathan Smith, 12, was killed and another 12-year-old was injured Monday afternoon when they were struck by a 2006 Chevrolet HHR while crossing Fort Apache Road outside of a crosswalk.

Though the incident occurred when the children did not cross in a marked crosswalk, Dawn Yoshimori, 41, said motorists should be extra cautious when traveling in areas near schools, parks and other attractions.

“He wasn’t in a crosswalk, I get that. But kids are going to be kids, and they’re going to do what they want,” said Yoshimori, a mother of five. “No matter how much you guide them or what you do, they’ll use their own minds.”

A third child was stopped in the median while Smith and the other boy attempted to cross the road. Two vehicles stopped to allow them to cross, police said, but the 22-year-old driver of a third vehicle did not, striking the two children.

The driver likely will not face charges, but the final decision will occur once the accident investigation is complete, according to Laura Meltzer, Metropolitan Police spokeswoman.

A traffic study is slated to be carried out on the stretch of South Fort Apache to determine if safety measures need to be adjusted in the area, said Dan Kulin, Clark County spokesman.

“In light of this tragic accident, we will study the area to see if any changes are warranted,” Kulin said. “It will take four to six weeks to complete.”

The study will factor in vehicle and pedestrian volume and crash data among other features, Kulin said.

Between 2015 and 2017, a total of 46 crashes occurred in the area, according the Department of Public Safety.

There was one other automobile-pedestrian involved crash, occurring in June 2017 at Fort Apache and Sunset Road.

Yoshimori, who’s lived in the area for several years, said it’s obvious something needs to be done, suggesting a crosswalk with flashing beacons or a traffic signal is needed for the intersection of Arby and South Fort Apache.

“I think this intersection is very dangerous because people will fly 60 mph down the lanes, both sides,” she said. “Some of the kids use the crosswalks at both sides, but some are not going to because they want to cross right here (toward the houses).”

The area the boys were crossing is sandwiched between Wayne N. Tanaka Elementary School on Arby to the east and Faiss Middle School, Faiss Community Park, and Wet ’n’ Wild water park to the west, areas children are known to frequent.

There are traffic signals, both to the north and to the south of the middle school at Fort Apache and Maule Avenue, but residents say children often skip walking the extra distance and jaywalk to access the nearby neighborhoods.

A school zone on South Fort Apache with flashing beacons used to be in the area of Faiss Middle School, but that was removed once the traffic signals were erected, creating a marked crosswalk at Maule, which runs alongside the middle school, officials said.

An upgrade to the intersection can’t come soon enough for Yoshimori, as she said children were back to jaywalking in the same area the next day.

“It’s not going to stop,“ she said. “I don’t know how many more it’s going to take to have a light here. … It’s very heartbreaking; it could be anyone’s kid.”

Contact Mick Akers at makers@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2920. Follow @mickakers on Twitter.