Woman dies in crash at Summerlin intersection day before signals go on

Heather Rawlyk

Wednesday, May 26, 2004 | 10:39 a.m.

Just one day before newly installed traffic lights were to be turned on at Town Center Drive at Havenwood Lane in Summerlin, a 26-year-old Las Vegas woman was killed when the vehicle in which she was a passenger failed to yield the right-of-way to an oncoming pickup truck at the intersection, police said.

The 1999 Kia Sephia driven by 25-year-old Thomas Bautista of Las Vegas paused at stop sign at Havenwood Lane and attempted to turn left onto Town Center Drive just after 3:30 p.m. and entered the path of a 2002 Ford F-150 pickup truck, Metro Police Detective Dennis Magill said.

The truck, driven by 38-year-old Anton Aghabi of Las Vegas, collided with the passenger side of the Kia, spun out of control and hit a light pole before coming to a stop, he said.

Elizabeth Carillo-Alvarez, the front seat passenger in the Kia, was pronounced dead at University Medical Center.

Bautista and 6-year-old Angel Alvarez, who was buckled into the middle back seat, were taken to UMC to be treated for minor injuries.

The driver of the truck was also transported to UMC with minor injuries.

Magill said neither the woman who died nor the driver of the Kia were wearing their seatbelts.

The collision is under investigation, but alcohol is not believed to be a factor, he said. This was the 50th traffic fatality in Metro's jurisdiction this year.

The intersection of Town Center Drive and Havenwood Lane has been a hot spot for auto collisions, Magill said, pointing to newly installed traffic lights, set to make their debut today.

"Yeah, those stop lights are going to be turned on tomorrow (Wednesday)," he said Tuesday night at the scene. "Hopefully in the future we can avoid scenes like this here."