Woman drank margaritas before fatal Henderson crash, police say

A driver arrested on charges of striking and killing a pedestrian in Henderson told police she had two margaritas several hours before getting behind the wheel, according to her arrest report.

Monica Blurton, 36, was arrested by the Henderson Police Department on Wednesday in connection with the crash at Boulder Highway and Magic Way just after 1 a.m. She faces one felony count of DUI resulting in death.

The Clark County coroner’s office has not yet identified the female pedestrian, who was pronounced dead at the scene.

Police said Blurton identified herself as the driver of the 2023 Chevy Malibu that struck the pedestrian. Blurton told officers she had been driving from a friend’s residence to a Shell gas station on Magic Way to buy cigarettes when the woman unexpectedly jumped into her windshield.

Blurton said she saw the woman at the last moment and immediately slammed her brakes, but was unable to avoid the collision, according to the police report. A witness told officers that Blurton said “she ran in front of my car” when the witness approached Blurton.

Blurton told police she had drank “a couple of margaritas” starting at 11 a.m. on Sept. 15, the day before the crash. An officer noted that Blurton altered her statement several times as she spoke, the report said.

Blurton later said she had two “little” margaritas, the report said, adding that it may have been as long as one-and-a-half hours between the drinks.

Another officer said Blurton’s gait appeared “very slow and calculated” as she walked to talk to them in a patrol car, according to the report. The officer said Blurton appeared tired, adding they could smell “the aroma of an unknown alcoholic beverage emanating from her breath as she spoke to me.”

“The driver was aware of the fact that a woman was dead on the roadway from an impact with her vehicle, understood I was on scene due to this occurring and was willing to speak to me concerning the event,” the officer wrote in the report. “However, she was still in a state where keeping her eyes open appeared difficult at times, closing them for extended periods of time before seeming to wake up and continue with the conversation.”

The officer noted that Blurton’s pupils appeared dilated and her performance on several field sobriety tests was unsatisfactory.

Blurton’s next court appearance is scheduled for Tuesday, online Henderson Justice Court records show.