Driver in fatal accident may be in Mexico

Keith Paul

Tuesday, Nov. 14, 2000 | 10:50 a.m.

A Las Vegas man who ran from an accident scene last month, leaving his injured wife and dying children behind, apparently has fled to his native Mexico, Nevada Highway Patrol officials said.

Troopers have been searching for Arsenio Tapia, 31, since he crashed his van into a dividing wall on Interstate 15 near Flamingo Road Oct. 15 about 11 p.m., causing his four young children to be thrown through the windshield, Trooper Alan Davidson, a Nevada Highway Patrol spokesman, said.

Two of Tapia's children, 7 year-old Juanita and 8-year-old Alfredo, died in University Medical Center from their injuries. His 3-year-old daughter, Guadalupe, and his wife, Julia, were treated and released in the days after the accident.

On Nov. 2, his 4-year-old son Gildarda was released from the hospital into his mother's care.

"We have been told that he is in Mexico and have information that his wife is taking the (surviving) children and going to Mexico" to be with him, Davidson said.

Tapia is wanted on manslaughter, child endangerment, felony reckless driving, hit and run, failure to give information and render aid, improper lane change, failure to report an accident and no proof of insurance charges.

"We have filed a warrant, but honestly our chances of catching him in Mexico are not really all that good," said Gary Booker, deputy district attorney.

But if Tapia ever decided to return to the United States, Booker said authorities would extradite from any jurisdiction in this country.

"I don't care where he is in this country, we'll bring him back here," Booker said. "What this guy did is absolutely unreal."

In the weeks after the accident, troopers searched the area for Tapia, suspecting he fled because he may have been drinking or scared, Davidson said.

Neighbors called troopers days after the accident claiming they saw Tapia at his apartment, but when troopers arrived he was gone and some of his relatives denied he had been there, Davidson said.

Julia Tapia could not be reached for comment this morning. On Thursday, she went to Highway Patrol headquarters and retrieved a suitcase that was in the wrecked van, Davidson said.

"We think that (Tapia) will eventually come back when he thinks we won't be looking for him, but that warrant will always be on file," Davidson said.