A 60-year-old Las Vegas man is facing two felony charges after police say he blew through a red light near the Strip, struck two vehicles, and killed a 28-year-old driver whose car was pushed into a concrete retaining wall. Daylon Bernstine now faces charges of DUI resulting in death and reckless driving in connection with the crash, which happened near East Desert Inn Road and Paradise Road.
According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, police received calls reporting the collision shortly before 6:10 p.m. Bernstine was driving a 2007 Hyundai sedan west on Desert Inn when he first rear-ended a 2017 Honda sedan that was waiting at a red light. Rather than stop, he accelerated and struck a second vehicle, a 2022 Honda sedan driven by Roy Izquierdo, which was facing south on Paradise.
The impact pushed Bernstine's vehicle into Izquierdo's Honda with enough force to shove it out of its lane and into a concrete retaining wall, the paper's reporting states. The driver of the first Honda estimated Bernstine was traveling about 30 miles per hour when he struck that vehicle. Izquierdo was taken to Sunrise Hospital, where he died less than two hours after the crashes were reported. The coroner determined he died from blunt force injuries, per the same report.
Officers Cite Bloodshot Eyes, Slurred Speech
Responding officers reported observing bloodshot, droopy eyes and slurred speech from Bernstine at the scene, according to the Review-Journal's account. A police officer also noticed the smell of burned marijuana coming from Bernstine's vehicle, and detectives found a baggie of a green leafy substance consistent with marijuana outside his driver's door.
When asked to provide an evidentiary blood sample, Bernstine reportedly responded, “Hell no,” and refused field sobriety tests as well, per the same account. He also pushed back on officers' questions, telling them, “Go talk to the other driver, why you guys trying to make me suspect,” the outlet reports. Under Nevada's implied consent law, NRS 484C.160, a refusal like his requires law enforcement to obtain a telephonic search warrant from a judge before performing a forced blood draw, while the refusal itself triggers an automatic one-year administrative license suspension through the DMV regardless of the criminal case's outcome.
Hospital staff told police that Bernstine's blood alcohol content was above the legal limit, though the arrest report did not quantify the exact figure, the Review-Journal notes. Toxicology results that could pin down a precise number remain an open question ahead of his initial court appearance, scheduled for Tuesday. Police also determined Bernstine did not have a valid driver's license at the time of the collision.
Prior 2012 DUI Conviction on Record
Bernstine was previously found guilty of a misdemeanor DUI charge in 2012, a case that resulted in 30 days in jail, DUI school, a victim impact panel, community service, and a requirement to stay out of trouble, according to the same reporting. The Metropolitan Police Department arrested him following the fatal crash, and he now faces the felony DUI and reckless driving counts stemming from Izquierdo's death.
Both charges carry severe mandatory penalties under Nevada law. DUI causing death is a Category B felony under NRS 484C.430, carrying a mandatory prison sentence of 2 to 20 years with steep fines; probation and suspended sentences are strictly prohibited under the statute. Reckless driving causing death is likewise a Category B felony, defined under NRS 484B.653 as punishable by 1 to 6 years in state prison and fines between $2,000 and $5,000.
Crash Adds to 2026 Fatality Count Near the Strip
The fatal collision marked the 73rd traffic-related death investigated within the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department's jurisdiction so far in 2026, according to the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department. That count covers unincorporated Clark County and the city of Las Vegas, though it excludes separate jurisdictions such as Henderson and North Las Vegas. Hoodline first reported on the crash and its critically injured pedestrian in earlier coverage of the deadly wreck.
The intersection sits along a stretch of East Desert Inn Road where Clark County has been investing heavily in safety upgrades. The county launched a $9.2 million infrastructure project in September 2025 between Paradise Road and Joe W. Brown Drive to repave the corridor, replace 30-year-old tunnel lighting, and add safety infrastructure for growing pedestrian traffic from the resort corridor, according to the Review-Journal's earlier reporting on the project. The crash site also sits adjacent to the Desert Inn Road Super Arterial, a 2.5-mile grade-separated expressway completed in 1996 that lets high-volume east-west traffic bypass the Strip by passing over Interstate 15 and under Las Vegas Boulevard, per Wikipedia.
Countywide, traffic fatalities have trended downward after a grim 2024. Clark County logged 237 traffic deaths in 2025, a decline from the record-high 296 recorded across the county in 2024, according to The Nevada Independent. Statewide, the Nevada Office of Traffic Safety reported 380 total traffic fatalities in 2025, a 9.52% reduction from the 420 deaths recorded in 2024, which had marked a 10-year high for the state.
That improvement has continued into this year, though unevenly. Nevada recorded 140 traffic fatalities statewide through May 2026, a 16.17% decrease compared to the same period in 2025, despite a 14.29% single-month spike in May fatalities alone. The Nevada Department of Transportation's 2026-2030 Strategic Highway Safety Plan, released in February, set a goal of cutting fatal and serious injury crashes by 35% by 2035 after the state recorded 1,606 fatalities and 6,948 serious injuries between 2019 and 2023.
