Cynthia Phelps: 2 dead and 3 injured after woman accused of DUI slams into Las Vegas bus stop
Warning: This article contains a recollection of crime and can be triggering to some, readers’ discretion advised.
LAS VEGAS, NEVADA: A suspected drunk driver, traveling in the wrong direction, tragically collided with five individuals waiting at a bus stop, resulting in the fatalities of a man and a teenage boy.
On the evening of Wednesday, April 17, in Las Vegas, Cynthia Phelps, aged 64, crashed her 2014 Kia Rio into a shelter while driving northbound in the southbound lane of Boulder Highway.
Collision results in death of 42-year-old man and a 14-year-old boy
Las Vegas Metropolitan police reported that the impact of the collision flung the man, woman, and three children waiting at the bus stop onto the highway.
A 41-year-old woman and two children were critically hurt, and a 42-year-old man and a 14-year-old boy perished on impact.
Following the collision, the woman's condition is described as potentially fatal, while the hospitalized children, aged eight and eleven, are listed in "serious" condition, as reported by Daily Mail.
All the victims are Las Vegas locals, though it remains uncertain if they were acquainted. The wreckage of a white Kia, crumpled against the bus shelter, and debris strewn across the highway, painted a scene of devastation.
According to police, the "vehicle versus multiple pedestrians collision" took place at 7:37 p.m., south of Dalhart Street.
"Evidence at the scene, surveillance video, and witness statements indicated that a 2014 Kia Rio was traveling northbound on Boulder Highway in the southbound travel lanes at a high rate of speed," the department said in a statement.
"The pedestrians were at an RTC bus Shelter, waiting for a southbound bus. A collision occurred when the vehicle left the roadway to the west, striking several fixed objects as it carried into the RTC bus shelter, where the pedestrians were," it further added.
The department went on to state, "The collision resulted in the pedestrians being projected forward and onto the roadway."
Cynthia Phelps taken into custody on suspicion of DUI
Phelps was also transported by ambulance to the same medical facility, where she received treatment for "minor injuries."
She was taken into custody on suspicion of DUI after exhibiting "signs of impairment," as per the police statement. The pedestrian deaths mark the 49th and 50th traffic-related fatalities in the LVMPD area for 2024.
The crash continues to be under investigation by LVMPD. Phelps is being held in Clark County without bond being granted; they appeared in court on Thursday, April 18 afternoon.
