Father might face charges in death of child in car crash

Thursday, Dec. 11, 2003 | 9:40 a.m.

A 3-year-old Las Vegas boy injured in a traffic crash Monday night has died, and authorities may now try to hold his father responsible because the boy was not wearing a seat belt and was not in a child safety seat at the time of the accident, Metro Police said Wednesday.

The coroner's office said the child, Zion Aleknewicus, died Tuesday at University Medical Center.

The boy's father, 29-year-old Michael Aleknewicus of Las Vegas, told police that Zion had been ill and was fussing at the time of the crash and that's why the boy was not restrained at the time, traffic officers said.

The toddler was trapped inside his father's 1988 Oldsmobile after it was hit by a 1992 Ford Explorer that failed to stop for a red light at Martin Luther King Boulevard and Washington Avenue, police said.

The Clark County district attorney's office will be asked to review the case, Metro Police Officer Jose Montoya said. The district attorney will determine if child negligence charges will be filed against the father.

Police said the driver of the Explorer, 49-year-old Juan Hernandez, was cited for failing to stop at the light.

The district attorney will also review the case to determine if additional or enhanced charges will be filed against Hernandez in light of the boy's death, Montoya said.