LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — The man accused of driving impaired, losing control of a car and colliding with a homeless encampment, killing a person, was coming home from a casino at double the legal limit for alcohol, documents said.
Elijah Brown, 24, of Henderson, faces charges of DUI resulting in death and reckless driving resulting in death, records said.
The collision happened on Friday, Dec. 19, around 7:20 p.m. near East Warm Springs Road, east of South Topaz Street. Investigators said Brown was traveling eastbound when he entered the center turn lane and struck the median.
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Brown’s car then crossed several lanes, hit a sidewalk and continued onto an unsecured dirt access road near railroad tracks for about 1,000 feet, police said. The car eventually crashed into a homeless encampment, where it struck Nicholas Sunday, 61, killing him.
When speaking with police, Brown said he was returning home from a Dotty’s casino, lost control of the car and that the brakes may have malfunctioned, documents said. He also told police the car “was low on oil,” which “caused him to lose control.”
Police located an electronic marijuana cigarette and a pill bottle in Brown’s pocket.
Documents the 8 News Now Investigators obtained on Wednesday indicate a blood test found Brown’s blood-alcohol level was 0.144 about four hours after the crash. The legal limit in Nevada is 0.08, and one’s blood-alcohol level generally drops over time as the body processes ethanol.
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During Brown’s probable cause hearing on Dec. 20, Las Vegas Justice Court Judge Daniel Westmeyer set bail at $100,000. Brown remained in custody on Wednesday ahead of a Jan. 6 preliminary hearing.
Further toxicology testing on Brown’s blood was pending.
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