LAS VEGAS (KLAS) – The surviving victim of a deadly crash is speaking about a judge’s decision to allow the driver to remain a free man after he was convicted and while he awaited sentencing. Max Mones, 39, boarded a plane to flee the country that same night, according to Clark County prosecutors.
“I was shocked that she didn’t immediately remand him,” Elena Russell told the 8 News Now Investigators.
A jury returned a guilty verdict against Mones on Oct. 11 for leaving the scene of an accident, involving the death of Kenneth Ham; and leaving the scene of an accident involving injury to Elena Russell, according to records.
Mones left the scene of the July 2019 crash after causing it, Deputy District Attorney Yu Meng said.
Mones was driving a DHL delivery van. The van is seen failing to stop at a stop sign and then making a left turn in front of a semi-truck. The truck driver swerved into a vehicle Hamm was driving with Russell as his passenger.
The couple dated for 13 years, they were engaged and they visited Las Vegas frequently from upstate New York, Russell told the 8 News Now Investigators.
“We kind of knew we were life partners,” Russell said.
She recalled waking up at University Medical Center with no memory of the crash. She and the truck driver both had serious injuries.
Mones later returned to the scene after his employer told him to, according to Meng.
“Instead of stopping at the scene, he left the scene without rendering aid, without calling for help,” Meng told the 8 News Now Investigators.
Police body camera video showed Mones blaming the truck driver.
“He wasn’t paying attention. He lost control or I don’t know, somehow,” Mones said.
The officer told Mones, “If you turned in front of him and caused him to swerve, now we have an issue.”
Five years later after the announcement of the guilty verdict, prosecutors asked Clark County District Court Judge Jessica Peterson to take Mones into custody.
Courtroom video obtained by the 8 News Now Investigators showed defense attorney Gary Reeves arguing against it.
“He’s never missed a court hearing. He’s solid in this community. He’s got strong ties,” Reeves told Peterson. “He’s not a flight risk. He’s not a danger to the community.”
Peterson told Mones to surrender his passport and placed him on monitoring which involved random check-ins and GPS monitoring via an app.
“It’s the least restrictive means necessary at this point,” Peterson said.
“I was shocked that she didn’t immediately remand him,” Russell told the 8 News Now Investigators.
The next day, Meng scanned social media pages for Mones and found a post on TikTok that appeared to be a video from an airplane.
“Goodbye Vegas,” the post stated.
“I was shocked,” Meng said. “My immediate reaction is, I really want to throw up because that is a five-year-old case.”
Meng immediately reached out to the Nevada State Police.
The Nevada Highway Patrol Traffic Homicide Unit obtained an arrest warrant from Las Vegas Justice Court, according to the agency.
Investigators learned Mones headed to Montreal and then Dubai with a final destination to Iraq where he is from, according to Meng.
Authorities in Dubai detained Mones on a connecting flight, documents stated.
“I broke out into tears and fell to my knees,” Russell said. “I was so thankful.”
On Sunday, Mones returned to the United States and was arrested in San Francisco. He is expected to be brought back to Las Vegas.
District Attorney Steve Wolfson said the manhunt could have been avoided.
“He was convicted of leaving the scene of an accident. He has a propensity for not staying around and being responsible,” Wolfson said. “He killed somebody. He substantially injured somebody else. This man should have been remanded in custody that afternoon.”
Mones faces an additional felony charge related to attempted fleeing while his sentencing in the original felony case is scheduled for Jan. 8.
Russell told the 8 News Now Investigators that she is sharing her story to remind others to be careful, including drivers on the roads and judges in courtrooms.
“It’s still difficult,” she said.
Russell said she had to leave her career in education due to memory loss she suffers from a traumatic injury. She currently works at a restaurant.
A civil lawsuit is ongoing.
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