Arrest made after mom killed in Christmas Eve crash in North Las Vegas
A man was arrested after a 41-year-old mother was killed in a North Las Vegas crash on Christmas Eve.
Rigoberto Chavez-Solorzano, 41, faces three counts of felony reckless driving resulting in death or substantial bodily harm — one for each of the occupants in the woman’s car, Las Vegas Detention Center records show. He was booked Monday after police said he was briefly hospitalized for minor injuries.
Investigators do not suspect Chavez-Solorzano was impaired, North Las Vegas police spokesman Eric Leavitt said. He had no obvious signs of drug or alcohol intoxication, though police conducted a routine blood draw.
But Leavitt said surveillance footage shows Chavez-Solorzano’s car “flying down Lake Mead” for “a while” before plowing into the family’s sedan.
The crash happened at the intersection of East Lake Mead Boulevard and Palmer Street about 12:30 p.m. Christmas Eve.
Police said the mother was sitting in the passenger seat of her family’s car as it waited in the center lane of Lake Mead facing west, then turned left, crossing traffic toward Palmer.
At that moment, Chavez-Solorzano’s car slammed into the passenger side of the family’s car, ejecting the mother, who died at the scene.
Her 13-year-old son, who was sitting in the back, was taken to University Medical Center with critical injuries. The driver, the child’s father, was hospitalized with injuries that were not life-threatening.
The county coroner’s office will release the mother’s name once all next of kin have been notified.
Chavez-Solorzano has a history of speeding, court records show. In 2012, he was charged with speeding 21 to 30 mph over the posted speed limit in Moapa. In 2017, he faced the same charge again twice — once in Las Vegas and once in North Las Vegas.
His latest speeding infraction came in September, when he was cited for speeding 1 to 10 mph over the posted speed limit.
Chavez-Solorzano remains in custody awaiting a court appearance. The crash marked the 21st fatal wreck in North Las Vegas this year.
Contact Rachel Crosby at rcrosby@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3801. Follow @rachelacrosby on Twitter.