A Las Vegas man was killed in a predawn crash after a driver in a Toyota Camry sped through a red light and slammed into his SUV, police said, a case that has now reached sentencing and drawn sharp criticism from the victim’s wife.
The death of 42-year-old Humberto Sanchez Aguero has become a public flashpoint because prosecutors agreed to a plea deal that reduced the counts a 23-year-old driver originally faced, including allegations tied to impaired driving. Family members say the punishment cannot match the loss of a husband and father of two, while authorities say the evidence shows a reckless red-light run that set off a chain reaction at a busy intersection.
The crash happened about 6:24 a.m. June 22, 2025, at North Eastern Avenue and East Stewart Avenue, according to the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department. Police said a 2021 Toyota Camry was traveling east on Stewart Avenue “at a high rate of speed” as it approached a red traffic signal at Eastern Avenue. At the same time, Sanchez Aguero was driving a 2005 Volkswagen Touareg north on Eastern and began a left turn onto Stewart, police said. The Camry struck the Touareg, and the impact pushed the collision into other vehicles in the intersection, police said.
Investigators described the wreck as a fatal, multiple-vehicle collision. Police said a witness statement and evidence at the scene supported their early account of the Camry’s speed and the red signal. The driver of the Touareg, Sanchez Aguero, was pronounced dead, police said. Authorities did not publicly release detailed medical information about other drivers or passengers involved, but police described the crash as involving multiple vehicles and said they were working to determine the full scope of injuries and damage in the hours after the wreck.
Sanchez Aguero’s family said he had been out running an errand and was close to home when he was hit. His wife, Ashley Perez-Sanchez, said the crash happened about a mile from their front door. In interviews with local media, she described him as hardworking and devoted to his children. She said he left behind two sons, and she told reporters the family’s daily routine was shattered in a moment by a driver’s decision at a red light.
Police identified the Camry driver as Raul Angel Castorena, 23, of Las Vegas, in public updates after the crash. Early reports said Castorena faced multiple charges connected to the wreck, including counts tied to impaired driving and traffic control violations. Over time, the case moved toward a negotiated resolution. Court records and media reports said Castorena pleaded guilty to reckless driving resulting in death or substantial bodily harm, a felony that carries a prison range under Nevada law.
At sentencing, the family focused on what they see as a gap between the loss they live with and the punishment Castorena will serve. Perez-Sanchez told reporters she believed the deal was too lenient for a crash that killed her husband. “My husband didn’t get a second chance,” she said in an interview, arguing that the person who caused the crash should not receive one either. She said she wanted the sentence to reflect the finality of death and the years of parenting and partnership her children and family will never get back.
Castorena’s sentencing was scheduled for Tuesday in Clark County District Court, and local reporting said the range of possible incarceration under the plea agreement was between one and six years. In a separate local report on the outcome, the driver was sentenced to a term that could run as long as six years. Court officials did not immediately release a full transcript of the hearing in public coverage, but media reports described the proceeding as emotional, with relatives speaking directly about the victim and the children he left behind.
The intersection where the crash happened sits in a heavily traveled part of the valley, and residents familiar with Eastern and Stewart describe it as a place where morning commuters, delivery drivers and families move through at the start of the day. Investigators said the crash unfolded quickly, with the Camry striking the Touareg as it turned and then triggering further collisions. In chain-reaction crashes, the force of the first impact can push vehicles into lanes of traffic or into stopped cars, and police often reconstruct the event using debris patterns, damage points and signal timing.
Police have not released every investigative detail in public summaries, but officials said evidence and a witness statement indicated the Camry approached the red signal at speed. In such cases, investigators typically review traffic light sequencing, take measurements of skid marks or yaw marks, and inspect vehicle data when available. Prosecutors also rely on toxicology testing and field observations when impairment is alleged. In this case, the negotiated plea reduced the number of counts the driver faced, and the final conviction centered on reckless driving resulting in death or substantial bodily harm.
The case has renewed attention on red-light running and high-speed driving in the Las Vegas area, where major arterials connect dense neighborhoods and commercial corridors. Traffic safety advocates and law enforcement agencies have long warned that high speeds can turn ordinary intersections into deadly hazards, especially in early morning hours when some drivers assume roads are clear. Police agencies often point to basic choices—speed, attention and obeying signals—as the difference between routine travel and tragedy, though officials in this case did not announce a specific new enforcement effort tied to the crash.
For Sanchez Aguero’s family, the story has remained personal rather than policy-driven. Perez-Sanchez has spoken publicly about raising two boys without their father and about the way grief arrives in ordinary moments: school drop-offs, weekends, and milestones that once included him. She said she wanted the court to hear directly how the loss continues beyond the crash scene. Relatives and friends described him as someone who worked to provide for his family and who spent his off-hours with his children.
As the criminal case moved forward, the legal questions narrowed to what prosecutors could prove beyond a reasonable doubt and what sentence could be secured without a trial. Plea bargains in fatal crash cases can be contentious because they trade uncertainty for certainty: prosecutors can guarantee a conviction and a prison term, while the defense avoids the risk of a much longer sentence. Victims’ families often have a chance to speak before sentencing, but they do not control the final agreement. In this case, the widow said she felt the final range did not reflect the seriousness of what happened at the red light.
Authorities have not said whether any civil lawsuit has been filed. Fatal crash cases sometimes result in wrongful death claims, separate from the criminal proceeding, to address financial losses and accountability. Those suits can involve insurance, vehicle ownership and other factors that are not part of the criminal file. Public reporting in this case has centered on the criminal sentence and the family’s public call for a harsher punishment.
The aftermath of a fatal crash also tends to unfold in quiet, bureaucratic steps that are hard for families to watch: evidence collection, lab results, charging decisions, court settings and continuances. Sanchez Aguero’s family said the court process stretched the grief across months, requiring them to revisit the crash while trying to keep their household stable. Perez-Sanchez said the sentencing date came quickly once it was set, adding to the pressure of preparing a statement while still managing daily life and parenting.
Castorena’s case is part of a broader category of traffic fatalities that sit at the intersection of criminal law and everyday risk. A collision can begin as a driving decision—speeding, a missed signal, a moment of distraction—and end with a death that prosecutors must then translate into charges that fit statutes and sentencing ranges. Families, meanwhile, often measure accountability in years and permanence, not in legal labels. Perez-Sanchez said that contrast has been one of the hardest parts of the case: she can count the years her children will grow up without their father, while the court measures punishment in a term that ends.
The court’s sentence means the criminal case is largely resolved, though post-sentencing motions, appeals or custody decisions can still follow. The family’s focus now shifts from court dates to life without Sanchez Aguero, including anniversaries and birthdays and the routine of raising two children. Perez-Sanchez said she wants her husband remembered not for the way he died, but for the role he played in his home and the love he showed his sons.
Authorities say the key fact remains unchanged from the first police account: a driver approached a red light at speed, and a father nearly home from an errand was killed when the vehicles collided. The next milestone in the public record is expected to be the final entry of the judgment and sentence in court files as the case closes.
Author note: Last updated February 12, 2026.