An 18-year-old man accused in the hit and run crash that killed young Mesa brothers Jan. 9 might avoid homicide charges, according to court documents.
Travis Cuevas, 18, ran from the crash that killed Frank Smith V, 11, and Nolan Smith, 6, and was able to elude investigators with the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office for five hours. The boys’ parents and a family friend were seriously injured in the crash.
The time span could make it impossible to extrapolate what his blood alcohol content was at the time of collision, information necessary to make homicide charges stick, a deputy wrote in court documents.
Witnesses said Cuevas had drank shots of vodka and as many as 10 beers before he borrowed a truck to take a friend home.
Cuevas is charged with leaving the scene of a fatal crash, an offense that would carry far less punishment than if he were charged with two counts of manslaughter and three counts of aggravated assault that would likely be filed if there was an accurate reading of his BAC.
According to court documents, the crash occurred about 10 p.m. at Sossaman and Elliot Roads as a pickup truck carrying Cuevas and a 17-year-old friend sped through a stop sign and barreled into a car with the Smith brothers.
Cuevas and the teenager fled and each said the other had been driving.
Investigators were able to determine Cuevas was at the wheel by using prints left on the truck’s foot pedal and a palm print on the gear shift. He also broke his left arm in the crash, which is an injury consistent with a driver in a crash, and his 17-year-old friend had bruises on his body from a passenger side seat belt.
