Published Wednesday, July 20, 2016 | 9:24 a.m.
Updated Wednesday, July 20, 2016 | 1:32 p.m.
K.C. Wells was stuck in nearly stalled traffic on Interstate 15 early Saturday when he heard the sounds of crashing cars behind him and looked into his rearview mirror.
What he saw terrified him.
A large SUV was headed straight for him and the driver was coming “as fast as he could be” with no signs of slowing down, Wells said.
With only seconds to react, Wells tried to change lanes to get out of the way, but he only had time to turn sideways before the SUV rammed into his car, he said.
Wells said it was a shocking episode made only more so by the identity of the man authorities say was behind the wheel: an off-duty Metro Police officer.
Bail was set at $100,000 this morning for the officer, Antonio Munoz Jr., 39, who is accused of ramming three cars while driving under the influence.
“You’re accused of a very serious crime,” Justice of the Peace Suzan Baucum told Munoz, who appeared this morning in Las Vegas Justice Court. Baucum set a preliminary hearing for Oct. 3.
A Nevada Highway Patrol trooper stopped Munoz in a GMC Yukon about 12:30 a.m. Saturday in the area of Charleston Boulevard and Grand Central Parkway for driving on the shoulder of the road and disobeying a traffic signal, spokeswoman Chelsea Stuenkel said.
The trooper saw damage on the truck and later linked it to three hit-and-runs on Interstate 15 between Charleston Boulevard and Sahara Avenue, Stuenkel said.
In one of the crashes, a man was seriously injured with a broken back or hip and taken to University Medical Center, according to a Highway Patrol arrest report.
Wells suffered injuries to his hip, back and wrist, while his wife, Stephanie, who was sitting in the front passenger seat, was also injured, Wells said. “Thankfully nobody was sitting in the back seat or the crash might have been fatal,” he said.
According to the arrest report, Munoz said he remembered only one of the three crashes.
He registered a .12 percent blood-alcohol level on a Breathalyzer test, above the legal limit to drive of .08 percent, the report said. Results of a blood test were still pending, Munoz’s attorney Josh Tomsheck said.
Munoz, who complained of chest pains after he was arrested, was taken to University Medical Center. He was booked Sunday at the Clark County Detention Center a charged on counts including felony DUI with substantial bodily harm and leaving the scene of a crash, authorities said. As of early afternoon today, Munoz had not posted bail and remained in custody.
Metro has suspended Munoz without pay, pending the outcome of an internal investigation, a spokeswoman said.
Wells, who spoke in an interview and was not in court today, said he hoped Metro would “respond appropriately,” if Munoz was found guilty.
“Metro is great to our city, but when one of their officers does something, they need to be held accountable, too” Wells said.
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