Melinda Chacon/GoFundMe
Donna Martinez, 48, and her daughter, Amanda 29, and granddaughter Layla White-Martinez, 4, were killed in a crash on a western Las Vegas road Dec. 26, 2019.
Friday, Dec. 27, 2019 | 4:40 p.m.
A woman, her adult daughter and 4-year-old granddaughter were three of the victims of a fiery crash Thursday night on a wet western Las Vegas road, according to an online fundraiser.
The fundraising account was confirmed by a GoFundMe official, the family member who established the account and Michael Troiano, the family’s Las Vegas attorney. The victims were: Donna Martinez, 48; Amanda Martinez, 28; and Layla White-Martinez, 4, according to the fundraiser.
The at-fault driver, a 39-year-old Las Vegas man, also was killed about 5:30 p.m. at the intersection of Desert Inn Road and Durango Drive. The victims have not been named by the Clark County Coroner’s Office.
Martinez’s son, 17, and another granddaughter, 10, suffered critical injuries, the family said. They were hospitalized at University Medical Center in critical condition, according to Metro Police.
The GoFundMe page, organized by Melinda Chacon, Donna Martinez’s cousin, had raised more than $12,000 as of Friday afternoon.
Metro said a 2016 Mazda 6 was recklessly speeding east on Desert Inn when the driver hit a median, lost control and rammed a Dodge SUV carrying the Martinez family, which was sitting at a red light, police said.
There was rainfall at the time of the crash, police said.
The crash was so violent that the vehicles were pushed through the intersection, erupting in flames, police said. A third vehicle also caught fire.
In total, seven vehicles were clipped or hit, but no other injuries were reported, police said.
Citizens raced out of their vehicles and pulled the surviving victims from the burning SUV, police said. “Thanks to the heroic acts of some citizens that saw that accident, there are two people still alive,” Metro Capt. Letkiewicz said from the scene Thursday night as rain continued to drizzle hours after the wreck.
Asked if the rain might have contributed to the crash, Letkiewicz struck a frustrated tone in a message to the public.
“Think before you drive. Stop doing stupid things. It’s wet. The roads are wet. Whether the rain is falling right now or not, it’s irrelevant,” he said.
“There’s no place that you have to be so badly that you put your own life or somebody else’s at risk,” he added. “As a result, four people are dead today and two others’ lives are changed … the day after Christmas. Just think about somebody maybe besides yourself,” he said about reckless drivers. “It’s unbelievable.”
The money raised will be used to bury the victims, Chacon wrote. “Losing one family member is a tragedy in itself but losing three to reckless driving is just gut wrenching.”
The surviving victims suffered broken bones and burns, Chacon wrote. They have a “long road to recovery ahead of them.”
Chacon described her cousin as a loving mother with a “huge heart.”
Amanda Martinez was a nurse, devoted to her career, Chacon said, while Layla, though she died at such a young age, “left her mark on the world.”
“She always made people laugh with her dance moves, quirky comments and little attitude,” Chacon said.
The family requested privacy.
