Las Vegas Prison Employee Suspected of Impairment Sent Home, Dies in Fatal Crash

LAS VEGAS — 8 News Now Investigators have learned that a state worker who was thought to be drunk was sent home from work and then crashed and died.

Investigators from 8 News Now reported that the Nevada Department of Corrections was looking into how Miles Collins, 38, died in the single-car accident on July 2.

Investigators from 8 News Now looked at internal records and found that at least one employee said Collins’ speech was slurred. The Clark County doctor says that when Collins died, he had MDMA, methamphetamine, cocaine, and THC in his body.

Collins worked as an expert in HVACR at the Southern Desert Correctional Center. The medium-security jail is near Indian Springs, which is about 45 minutes by car north of Las Vegas.

Collins was thought to be drunk at work around 6:30 a.m., and his boss was told. He was then taken to a Concentra in Las Vegas for a test, and afterward, he was driven back to jail, according to a report obtained by 8 News Now Investigators.

A report said that Collins left the jail in his Toyota Tundra around 10:30 a.m. and was killed in an accident in the southbound lanes of US-95 by 11:16 a.m.

A report said, “He left the road for unknown reasons; the truck rolled, he was ejected, and it came to a stop in a desert area next to the road.”

The coroner said Collins’ death was an accident and that he died from being hit in the head and body.

It was still not clear why Collins was allowed to drive home from the state jail in such bad shape more than three months after the fatal crash.

The “State of Nevada Alcohol and Drug Program for State of Nevada Executive Branch Agencies” manual from July 2023 talks about cases like the one with Collins.

The manual says “Once the employee has completed all required testing, it is the appointing authority’s responsibility to make sure the employee is transported home.” “Law enforcement usually won’t be able to help with this last step.”

Someone from 8 News Now called the Department of Corrections to ask about the case. A spokesperson for the department said in an email on October 17 that they could not respond because it was a personnel matter.

Someone from the company said in a previous email that Collins was hired in April 2017.