Las Vegas man gets 4-12 years for driving drunk at 140 mph, killing chef, splitting car in half

LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — A man who drove drunk at 140 mph and killed another driver, splitting his car in two, will serve at least four years in prison, a judge ruled Thursday.

On March 22, 2024, Charlie Hernandez was speeding in a Dodge Challenger on Las Vegas Boulevard near Cheyenne Avenue when he struck a Hyundai Accent turning from Walnut Road onto the boulevard. The force of the crash caused the Hyundai to separate into two parts and the Challenger to roll over, police said.

Luciano Chavez, 38, the driver of Hyundai, died in the crash. A passenger suffered substantial injuries, police said at the time.

Investigators reviewing the Challenger’s internal computer found the car was traveling at 140 mph about three seconds before the airbags deployed, documents said. Hernandez was allegedly pressing the accelerator at full throttle. One millisecond before the crash, the car was traveling at 127 mph.

“We MUST do better, Clark County!” Metro police posted on social media after the crash. “Families are suffering due to reckless choices! It’s time to put an END to this tragedy!”

Last year, Hernandez took a plea deal on a charge of DUI resulting in death. As part of the deal, a judge would sentence him to prison, but prosecutors would not have the right to argue for a specific sentence. State law requires judges to sentence offenders of DUI resulting in death to prison for at least two years with a maximum of 20 years. The law stipulates the maximum amount of time a DUI-with-death offender can be in prison before a parole hearing is eight years.

A bill passed in 2023, commonly called Rex’s Law, increased prison time to a maximum of 10 years for drivers going more than 50 miles per hour over the speed limit in a fatal crash. It was previously six years.

In court Thursday, Clark County District Court Judge Bita Yeager sentenced Hernandez to 4-12 years.

“I messed up. I wish I could take every back, but I know I can’t,” Hernandez told Yeager before she sentenced him. Hernandez added he believed he was the least impaired in a group of people after a party and made a poor decision.

Hernandez recently became a father and had no criminal record before the crash, he and his attorney told the judge.

Chavez immigrated to the United States from Guatemala and was working as a chef, his family said. His two brothers spoke in Spanish with the help of a translator.

“He was driving 140 miles per hour, which is unacceptable,” Geronimo Chavez said. “I also drive but not even on the freeway would I go at that speed.”

“When a son loses a wife, he becomes a widower. When a son loses a parent, he becomes an orphan. But there’s no name for this type of death,” Cesar Chavez said.

Chavez’ niece, Angelica Chavez, relayed the importance of justice when someone else takes a person’s life.

“We always try to look to the future and when it’s completely cut short from of the actions of someone else truly I feel like there should be justice,” she said.

Before announcing her decision, Yeager said the 140-mile-per-hour number stuck out among the DUI cases she sees.

“I don’t think that this is the type of case where the minimums are appropriate,” she said.

With credit for time served, Hernandez will be eligible for parole in 2029. His family cried in the courtroom as Yeager delivered her sentence.

8 News Now Investigator David Charns can be reached at dcharns@8newsnow.com.

Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KLAS.