Blog

A pedestrian was killed in a traffic accident in Las Vegas on Thursday. The pedestrian, a 60-year-old, was in a crosswalk on Harmon Avenue when a vehicle struck him. Medical personnel later pronounced him dead, part of a rash of traffic fatalities in Clark County.

Police later arrested the driver, who left the scene with a damaged vehicle. However, the police declined to identify the arrestee.

Traffic Fatalities in Clark County

The hit-and-run incident spotlights a troubling trend in Clark County. This year, 39 people died on county roads during the first two months, up significantly from the previous year. At least 13 Clark County residents have died in March already. And after a 2021 that saw Nevada’s highest death total in 14 years, officials expressed concern about the growing trend.

No other Nevada county reported such an increase in traffic fatalities. Clark County, Nevada’s most populous county and the 11th most populous in the country, accounted for 84% of the traffic deaths statewide during the period. A large portion of the deaths came from a single January accident in which nine people died, the deadliest single crash in Nevada in the last 30 years.

A recent 24-hour period beginning on the 13th saw five deaths in traffic incidents, including at least one pedestrian. According to most data, speeding is the leading factor in causing these incidents to result in death in Nevada. Notably, the driver in the crash that killed nine was traveling at over 100 miles per hour.

Clark County is not the only populous county in the country whose traffic fatalities are on the rise. California’s Bay Area, home to some eight million residents, has seen

traffic deaths rise in each of its three largest cities.

Drivers on Clark County roads should take extra care to stay safe and drive carefully out there. Our drivers maintain rigorous safety standards to help keep Las Vegas safe!