Red-light violation suspected as woman, 19, arrested in fatal collision

Tuesday, Aug. 24, 2004 | 10:53 a.m.

A 19-year-old woman was arrested early this morning after she allegedly drove through a red light and struck another vehicle, killing its 69-year-old driver, police said.

Metro Police said Rachel Braund had mixed prescription painkillers with alcohol before she got behind the wheel of her Chrysler PT Cruiser about 2 a.m. today, reportedly to follow her boyfriend, with whom she'd been having an argument, Sgt. Frank Weigand said.

Braund drove through a red light at the intersection of Durango Drive and Flamingo Road striking a late-model Honda driven by a 69-year-old Las Vegas woman, he said.

Braund was traveling about 45 mph, the posted speed limit on northbound Durango Road, but, because she failed to brake, her car broadsided the Honda with enough force for it to flip several times, Weigand said.

The Honda driver, whose name was not released this morning pending notification of her family, died at the scene. She was not wearing a seatbelt, Weigand said.

Officers at the scene reported Braund had a .04 blood alcohol content, half the legal limit, but she had taken double the prescribed dosage of the painkiller, so she had ingested enough to severely impact her ability to drive, he said.

"She appeared to be in shock from what happened and her voice and actions were kind of slow, which is an indication of her being under the influence," Weigand said. "With the combination of the (prescription) narcotics and the alcohol she probably wasn't paying attention to what she was doing. She had everything on her mind but driving."

The intersection remained closed until 5 a.m.

Braund, who suffered minor injuries in the accident, remained at the Clark County Detention Center this morning.