Federal data shows 133 people were killed on Nevada roadways in wrong-way driving crashes from 2020 to 2024, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Since 2024, the Las Vegas Review-Journal has documented at least 18 additional fatalities caused by wrong-way drivers in Clark and Nye counties, with four more killed in crashes just across state lines in Utah and California.
The deaths persist despite preventive technology on interstate off-ramps, DUI saturation patrols, and a 2025 state law that made wrong-way driving on a divided highway a misdemeanor. Nevada Highway Patrol Trooper Shawn Haggstrom said impairment remains a primary factor. In 2024, troopers investigated 12 wrong-way fatal crashes involving 20 deaths, 10 of them in Clark County. Where toxicology tests were performed, all came back positive for alcohol or drugs.
One wrong-way driver who killed a Metropolitan Police Department officer on Interstate 15 near Moapa in 2024 was nearly three times the legal alcohol limit. Haggstrom said the majority of wrong-way crashes occur at night, between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m., and on weekends. Several have occurred on Interstate 11 and U.S. Highway 95 north of the Las Vegas Valley, though fatal crashes have also happened in populated areas.
Haggstrom offered steps motorists can take to protect themselves. He urged drivers to wear seat belts, keep headlights on, and use the right lane when possible, especially at night, because wrong-way drivers tend to stay closest to the median believing they are in the correct lane. He also advised scanning the road at least 10 to 15 seconds ahead to allow reaction time for evasive action.
Sources: Las Vegas Review-Journal
Original reporting: Las Vegas Review-Journal →
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