She is accused of causing a deadly crash, but disappeared while awaiting trial
A Las Vegas woman accused of causing a deadly 2019 crash while driving impaired has disappeared as she awaited trial, according to court records.
District Court records show Marsha Stewart Byrd, 63, was scheduled to go to trial in early February on felony driving under the influence and reckless driving charges stemming from the Dec. 30, 2019, crash that killed Gilma Rodriguez-Walters, 53, on Tropical Parkway.
Court records now indicate Stewart Byrd failed to appear in District Court on Feb. 1. A bench warrant was issued for Stewart Byrd on Feb. 14 and signed by Judge Eric Johnson. A notice of intent to forfeit a $25,000 surety bond in the case was filed in the case on Feb. 10.
Rodriguez-Walters’ daughter, Ruth Neall, said in a phone interview Thursday that Stewart Byrd’s disappearance has only caused more pain to the victim’s family.
“Where are you?” Neall said. “If she is passed away, it would be good to know. If you are still out there, why are you running? Come clean and take responsibility for your own actions.”
Police said Rodriguez-Walters was driving home from her job at Home Depot when Stewart Byrd’s vehicle slammed into Rodriguez-Walters’.
Moments before the collision, four witnesses observed Stewart Byrd’s 2001 Mercedes-Benz headed west on Tropical Parkway at 3:52 p.m., passing traffic on the unimproved shoulder “at an excessive rate of speed,” police said at the time. When an officer spoke to Stewart Byrd, police said the officer “detected the odor of an unknown intoxicating beverage emanating from Marsha Stewart Byrd’s person.”
Neall said Stewart Byrd represented to the court before the trial date that she was receiving treatment for breast cancer. Neall, however, said her family will continue to pursue justice in the case.
“We don’t know her status at all,” Neall said. “It is frustrating not being able to close this chapter in our life.”
Contact Glenn Puit by email at gpuit@reviewjournal.com. Follow @GlennatRJ on Twitter.