One person is dead and another injured after a weekend crash involving an alleged impaired driver.
Ashley Winn, Pahrump, was arrested by the Nevada Highway Patrol and charged with two preliminary felony counts, one DUI involving death and the other DUI resulting in serious bodily injury, in addition to a misdemeanor charge of failure to stop at a stop sign, as a result of the incident.
At around 4 a.m. on Saturday morning, sheriff’s deputies responded to the area of Dandelion and Honeysuckle streets after reports of a motor vehicle crash came into dispatch.
Deputies saw two vehicles involved in the crash upon arrival at the scene. The initial investigation revealed that Winn was traveling westbound on Honeysuckle Street, while the victim was heading northbound on Dandelion Street. Winn failed to stop at the stop sign, crashing into the vehicle on Dandelion.
The passenger of the vehicle, Christine Weir, 33, traveling on Dandelion Street, was pronounced dead at the scene, while the driver, Brian Choiniere, 33, was airlifted to University Medical Center in Las Vegas.
The Nevada Highway Patrol Multidisciplinary Investigation and Reconstruction Team responded to the scene to assist sheriff’s deputies and took over the fatal motor vehicle accident portion of the investigation.
That investigation ultimately identified that Winn, the driver of the vehicle on Honeysuckle Street, was intoxicated and was the at-fault vehicle in the accident, as a result of running the stop sign.
According to the Nevada Highway Patrol, Winn admitted that she had been drinking whiskey up to one hour before the crash.
Sheriff’s deputies assisted in the DUI portion of the investigation, and a blood sample was secured from Winn after a search warrant was obtained from the Pahrump Justice Court.
NHP arrested Winn after her release from Desert View Hospital and charged her with the three above counts.
Winn was transported to the Nye County Detention Center and was booked on the three charges, with bail set at $200,240.
Prior to being fully booked and housed in the detention center, Pahrump Justice of the Peace Kent Jasperson released Winn on her own recognizance, with a return court date.
On Monday morning Judge Jasperson rescinded Winn’s own-recognizance release. She turned herself in and was re-booked at 9 a.m.
On Tuesday morning, Jasperson reduced Winn’s bond to $50,000 at her first court hearing.
Contact reporter Mick Akers at makers@pvtimes.com. Follow @mickakers on Twitter.