Driver arrested in northwest Las Vegas crash that killed teen driver has previous DUIs
A man with a history of DUIs is accused of causing a crash early Thursday that killed a 16-year-old boy who was driving himself to school.
Before the crash, the teen — identified Thursday as Jaelan Jonson Fajardo — had stopped his Honda Accord about 6:30 a.m. at a red light on northbound Durango Drive at Farm Road. That’s when the driver of a Chevy Trailblazer failed to stop at the light and plowed into the back of Fajardo’s Accord, forcing it into the southbound lanes of Durango.
“Investigators believe speed and impairment were factors in this crash,” Highway Patrol trooper Jason Buratczuk said Thursday afternoon.
Both drivers were taken to University Medical Center, Buratczuk said. Fajardo died in the hospital’s trauma unit, and the second driver, later identified as David Fensch, 47, suffered injuries that were not life-threatening.
Fensch was booked Thursday afternoon into the Clark County Detention Center, where jail records show he faces one count of failing to decrease speed and use due care, one count of not having a driver’s license and one count of vehicular homicide.
The vehicular homicide charge is reserved for cases in which the driver is suspected of being under the influence and has at least three prior DUI convictions.
Court records show in March 2014 that Fensch completed all requirements of a DUI court program after facing charges in 2011 for his second local DUI offense. Part of that program includes attending a victim impact panel, in which the defendant listens to a panel including relatives of DUI victims, first responders and a previous DUI offender.
Fensch completed the victim impact panel portion of the program as of Feb. 26, 2014, records show.
Clark County School District officials would not confirm Thursday whether Fajardo was enrolled with the district, and if so, what school he attended, but social media posts suggested Fajardo attended Shadow Ridge High School.
On Thursday afternoon, several classmates and friends of Fajardo as well as strangers took to social media to mourn the teen.
“Praying for the friends and family of Jaelan Fajardo,” one user posted Thursday. “I can’t imagine the pain you all are going through.”
On Fajardo’s own Twitter profile, the teen tweeted on Christmas, “OMG I got a new car.”
A GoFundMe account set up for Fajardo’s family Thursday night had raised more than $7,400 as of 6:30 a.m.
This was the eighth fatal crash this year within the Highway Patrol’s southern jurisdiction, which includes Clark County.
Review-Journal reporter Mike Shoro contributed to this report. Contact Rachel Crosby at rcrosby@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5290. Follow @rachelacrosby on Twitter.