The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police have arrested a man in connection with a fatal hit-and-run that killed a pedestrian on Boulder Highway on New Year's Eve. Joshua Johnson, a 31-year-old resident of Las Vegas, now faces charges following the incident, which occurred around 6:15 p.m. near Whitney Avenue, south of Tropicana Avenue. According to 8 News Now, Johnson was booked into the Clark County Detention Center and is expected to appear in court Saturday morning.
The crash that left one pedestrian dead unfolded as a dark-colored sedan, reportedly driven by Johnson, traveled north on Boulder Highway, striking the victim, who was not in a crosswalk. Caught in the storage lane, the Chevrolet implicated in the crash did not stop, fleeing the scene, with the driver making an effort to elude responsibility for a moment now eternally seared into the fabric of a family's history. News 3 LV reported that the pedestrian was transported to Sunrise Hospital but later succumbed to their injuries.
The identity of the pedestrian remains unreleased as authorities continue their investigation. The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department has been diligently working to piece together the events that led to the victim's death. In the interim, officers have charged Johnson with the duty to stop at the scene of a crash, a legal obligation meant to tether all drivers to a common humanity, to a shared agreement that in moments of accidental tragedy, we will not turn away.
While the Clark County Coroner's Office has yet to complete its investigation into the exact cause and manner of death, the event has indeed cast a shadow over the holiday season. Las Vegas police are continuing their appeal for witnesses or anyone with information relating to the crash to come forward. Giving a voice to truth, they urge individuals to contact LVMPD's Collision Investigation Section at 702-828-3317 or, for those who wish to remain anonymous, Crime Stoppers at 702-385-5555, as reported by Hoodline.
