Las Vegas driver accused in wrong-way crash cited before for going 124 mph

LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — The driver accused in a wrong-way crash that left a Nevada Department of Corrections officer seriously injured was previously cited for driving 124 mph on the freeway, the 8 News Now Investigators have learned. The ticket was amended to a parking violation.

Donovan Garcia-Moreno, 31, faces charges of DUI resulting in substantial bodily harm and reckless driving resulting in substantial bodily harm for the May 31 crash on U.S. 95, records said.

On May 31 around 4 a.m., dispatchers reported a wrong-way driver going southbound on U.S. 95 near Lee Canyon. About seven minutes later, dispatchers reported that the wrong-way vehicle had crashed into another vehicle, resulting in both of them overturning, Nevada State Police said.

In October 2016, a trooper cited Garcia-Moreno for driving 124 mph on U.S. 95 in Boulder City, records said. The speed limit on that section of road was 75 mph, according to a copy of the ticket the 8 News Now Investigators obtained.

The trooper cited Garcia-Moreno for driving 21 miles or more over the speed limit. The charge was later amended to a parking violation.

The parking violation yielded a $608 fine. Garcia-Moreno paid the fine in 2018 and the case was closed.

In the May crash, Moreno collided with Nevada Department of Corrections Lt. Jonathan Rivera, who was on his way to work at High Desert State Prison, police said. Rivera was seriously injured in the head-on crash and was airlifted from the scene to a hospital.

While at the hospital, Moreno asked if anyone was seriously hurt, and when the trooper told him yes, he “showed no remorse in stating that people die every day,” his arrest report said.

In court Monday, a pro temp judge released Moreno on $15,000 bail and an alcohol-monitoring bracelet, records said. The judge also ordered Moreno not to drive. A preliminary hearing was scheduled for June 27.

Last fall, federal investigators said “systemic deficiencies” with how Nevada agencies and courts share information led to a devastating crash in 2022 that killed nine people. The board cited Nevada officials’ failure to address the driver’s repeated traffic infractions, including the practice of knocking tickets down to parking violations.

On Jan. 29, 2022, Gary Dean Robinson, 59, of North Las Vegas, was behind the wheel of a Dodge Challenger when he ran a red light at 103 mph at the intersection of Commerce Street and Cheyenne Avenue, crashing into a minivan carrying a family of seven. Robinson had cocaine and PCP in his system at the time of the crash, investigators said.

According to court records, Robinson had pleaded guilty just days earlier for speeding up to 10 miles over the limit on Dec. 9, 2021. He paid a $150 fine. Records the 8 News Now Investigators obtained reveal Robinson was actually traveling 19 miles over the speed limit before the officer cited him on a lesser charge.

Though he was stopped several times for speeding, Robinson’s driving record included just one documented speeding ticket, the NTSB reported. The speeding tickets were lowered to other violations, records the 8 News Now Investigators reviewed indicated.

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