A Las Vegas jury is weighing the fate of a man accused of driving drunk and speeding before slamming into a motorcyclist in the northwest valley last year, killing him. Carlos Roberto Hernandez is on trial for driving under the influence resulting in death and reckless driving resulting in death, according to Clark County District Court records.
The jury was seated last week, and closing arguments were expected Tuesday, according to KLAS 8 News Now. Hernandez was arrested near the Durango Drive exit off the 215 Beltway in July 2025, accused of being intoxicated and speeding when he killed 35-year-old motorcyclist Kyle Burrell, who was riding home at the time.
How the Crash Unfolded
Nevada State Police said Hernandez crashed into Burrell, throwing him off the motorcycle, per the outlet's report. An arrest report said Hernandez was traveling 83 miles per hour before the crash. The Clark County coroner's office listed Burrell's cause of death as multiple blunt force injuries, according to the autopsy report, which also found that Burrell tested positive for methamphetamine.
Witnesses in the northwest valley reported seeing alcohol cans near Hernandez's vehicle after the crash. A witness who shared video of the crash with the station described seeing the driver throwing cans of alcohol out of his pickup truck instead of helping the motorcyclist, telling 8newsnow.com, “They said the driver was throwing cans of alcohol out of his pick-up truck, instead of helping the biker.”
Charges Escalated After Arrest
An arrest report described Hernandez as having bloodshot eyes at the scene. A separate report from the station said court documents described Hernandez as having red, bloodshot, watery eyes and noted that police observed two green Buzz Balls next to his truck. The Clark County District Attorney's Office charged Hernandez on Aug. 5, 2025, with DUI resulting in death and reckless driving, upgrading the case from its earlier status, the outlet's report states.
That escalation marked a shift from how the case was first described. A report from news3lv.com identified Carlos Roberto Hernandez as the driver accused of causing the fatal crash involving Burrell on July 4, when he initially faced only a misdemeanor DUI charge before prosecutors upgraded the case.
Part of a Broader Reckoning Over DUI Penalties
Hernandez's case lands amid ongoing scrutiny of how Clark County prosecutes and sentences fatal DUI cases. Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson has said Nevada's recently passed crime bill increased some DUI penalties but called the changes insufficient, telling KTNV, “Gov. Lombardo's recently-passed crime bill did include increases in some DUI penalties. But in my opinion, not enough.”
Other recent Las Vegas DUI-death cases have ended with multi-year prison terms. Judge Michelle Leavitt sentenced Carlos Lee to six to 15 years in prison for a DUI death in a hearing held in January 2026, according to the same KTNV report. In a separate fatal crash, Charlie Hernandez was sentenced to four to 12 years in prison after pleading guilty to DUI resulting in death, per 8newsnow.com's earlier reporting on a crash that killed a chef and split a car in half.
Under Nevada law, NRS 484C.130 addresses vehicular homicide and lays out an affirmative defense available under certain circumstances, according to the Nevada Legislature's Chapter 484C listing. It remains unclear how, or whether, that statute factors into Hernandez's case, as the trial's outcome had not been reported as of Tuesday.
