Man was speeding before suspected DUI crash near Strip, report says
Police say a Utah man was driving a rental truck at twice the posted speed limit near the Strip on Sunday when he was involved in a multi-vehicle crash that left one critically injured.
Las Vegas police said they arrested Christopher Faifaimalie, 24, of Salt Lake City, at the scene of the 2:43 p.m. crash on Harmon Avenue near Koval Lane. In an arrest report for Faifaimalie, police said that he was driving a U-Haul truck east on Harmon when the vehicle crossed into the westbound lanes, near Koval Lane, around 2:43 p.m.
The U-Haul truck hit the front of a Hyundai Elantra, causing the rear end of the truck to hit the rear of a Nissan Rogue. The three occupants of the Hyundai were taken to University Medical Center. The driver of the Hyundai, a Las Vegas man, suffered “a torn diaphragm that required emergency surgery,” police said in the arrest report.
Police said Faifaimalie admitted to them that he had taken drugs before the crash. In his arrest report, police said data recovered from the U-haul truck also showed he was traveling at 70 mph in a 35 mph zone just before the crash.
A witness told police that Faifaimalie’s vehicle swerved into oncoming traffic to go around slower moving traffic on Harmon, causing the collision.
Faifaimalie was taken to University Medical Center for treatment of minor injuries before being booked into the Clark County Detention Center on suspicion of DUI resulting in substantial bodily harm.
Contact Glenn Puit by email at gpuit@reviewjournal.com. Follow @GlennatRJ on Twitter.
