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UPDATE: Coroner rules wrong-way driver's death a suicide

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Posted at 5:47 PM, Dec 22, 2019
and last updated 2020-01-06 16:51:31-05

UPDATE JAN. 6: The Clark County coroner has ruled the death of 23-year-old Cecily Camarena as a suicide. The cause of death was multiple blunt force injuries. Camarena died Dec. 22 as a result of a crash on Interstate 15 near Jean.

UPDATE DEC. 23: The Clark County coroner has identified the woman killed in the wrong-way crash on Dec. 22 as 41-year-old Roshonda Thornton. The crash happened on Interstate 15 near Charleston Boulevard. Her cause of death is still pending.

The other person killed was also a female. She has been identified as 23-year-old Cecily Camarena of Las Vegas. Camarena died as a result of a wrong-way crash involving a car and tractor trailer on Interstate 15 near Goodsprings Road in Jean. Her cause of death is also pending.

ORIGINAL STORY
Two deadly crashes overnight were caused by drivers going the wrong way on roads in the Las Vegas area. These deadly crashes follow a string of similar crashes in recent weeks.

The first happened late Saturday night on Interstate 15 near Jean. State troopers say a woman was driving northbound when her vehicle hit a tractor trailer. She died at the scene.

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The aftermath of a deadly wrong-way crash on I-15 near Jean. Source: Nevada Highway Patrol

The second happened shortly before 2 a.m. on Sunday. NHP says two cars -- each with one man and one woman -- crashed on the 215 near Charleston Boulevard. All four people were transported to UMC.

A 41-year-old woman driving the car traveling the correct way on the 215 died at the hospital, authorities say.

Investigators believe impairment was a factor in Sunday's crash. Both people in the wrong-way vehicle were not wearing their seat belts, NHP says.

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The aftermath of a deadly wrong-way crash on 215 near Charleston Boulevard. Source: Nevada Highway Patrol

Earlier this month, 13 Action News reported on the serious issue of wrong-way drivers.

Since November, a total of six people have been killed by wrong-way drivers in Southern Nevada.

State troopers say they have responded to 576 reports of wrong-way drivers so far this year, 384 of those in Southern Nevada.

Last year there were 600 wrong-way calls, 443 of those in Southern Nevada.

The agency did not have the exact number of wrong-way crashes. The numbers above mean someone called police or Nevada Highway Patrol to report a wrong-way driver and a trooper was sent to the area.

Read more Las Vegas breaking news for Dec. 22, 2019

Read More Las Vegas breaking news for Dec. 21, 2019