Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Police: Man says he smoked pot hours before fatal pedestrian crash

3 Dead in Fatal Pedestrian Crash

Christopher DeVargas

Police investigate the scene of a multi-vehicle crash near Eastern Avenue and Flamingo Road, where three pedestians were killed and an additional seven were hospitalized. Wed. Dec. 13, 2017.

3 Pedestrians Killed in Crash

Police investigate the scene of a multi-vehicle crash near Eastern Avenue and Flamingo Road, where three pedestians were killed and an additional seven were hospitalized. Wed. Dec. 13, 2017. Launch slideshow »

A man accused of causing a 12-vehicle wreck that killed three pedestrians Wednesday at Flamingo Road and Eastern Avenue told investigators he’d smoked marijuana earlier that day, according to a Metro Police arrest report.

Daniel Becker, 31, and his wife said he also has a medical condition that causes him to have seizures, and the woman said Becker had voluntarily surrendered his Nevada driver’s license a couple of months ago after crashing into a light post, police said.

Officers responding to Wednesday’s crash about 3:10 p.m. found three bodies, damaged cars and debris in the road as medics wrestled with Becker to put him on a gurney, police said.

The three victims were identified by the Clark County Coroner’s Office as Jazzy Smith, 19, and Carrie Smith, 49, both of North Las Vegas, and Charlene Emerson, a 69-year-old Las Vegas resident. According to reports, two of the victims were mother and daughter.

At Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center, Becker, one of seven people hospitalized, told detectives he regularly smoked marijuana, most recently before his 5:30 a.m. work shift, police said.

His attitude at the hospital “varied from agitated to irritable, to calm and cooperative,” police said in the report.

An officer said Becker displayed “psychoactive indicators” consistent with a person under the influence of marijuana, according to the report. The results of a blood test are pending, police said. A preliminary breath test showed no signs of alcohol, police said.

Becker was booked and is being held without bail at the Clark County Detention Center on counts of DUI and reckless driving, jail logs show.

Traffic at the busy intersection was stopped for more than 10 hours as investigators combed through the crash scene.