LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — The death of an unborn child following a multi-vehicle crash in September will not be included in the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department’s fatal numbers for 2025. However, the suspected DUI driver will continue to face charges for that child’s death.
Man arrested in Las Vegas suspected DUI crash that caused woman to lose pregnancy, left child hospitalized had prior DUI conviction
Prosecutors charged Maximiliano Chavez, 28, with DUI and reckless driving resulting in the child’s death, as well as DUI and reckless driving charges for the child’s mother, older brother, and another person, who all suffered life-threatening injuries.
The pregnant mother underwent an emergency delivery following the September crash, but the infant did not survive. Metro keeps track of traffic-related fatalities every year, but those numbers don’t take into account an unborn child, the department said Tuesday.
“A baby born following a collision is not considered a separate individual from the mother and therefore will not be counted as a fatality,” according to Metro.
Police said Chavez ran a red light, causing the crash, and then failed field sobriety tests. They said he admitted to drinking alcohol and ingesting marijuana before the crash, which happened on the afternoon of Sept. 6 at the intersection of Blue Diamond Road and Las Vegas Boulevard.
During a court hearing shortly after his arrest, prosecutors said Chavez had a prior DUI conviction in 2021. Chavez remains in the Clark County Detention Center. According to court documents, he is scheduled for a jury trial on April 27, 2026…