“Showed her at the coroner’s office”: Mom saw daughter’s phone location and ‘broke down,’ unaware driver had killed her in crosswalk and now evades justice, DA says
Inset: Amber Brown. Background: The Las Vegas crosswalk that Amber Brown was walking in when Angel Franco Merida allegedly blew through a red light and slammed into her (KLAS/YouTube).
Posted For: Hauviette
A Nevada mother says she learned of her daughter’s hit-and-run death in a heartbreaking way—by checking her phone’s location data, which showed her at the county coroner’s office.
Cheri Brown told Las Vegas CBS affiliate KLAS that she discovered what happened to her daughter, Amber Brown, only after hours of panic when Amber failed to come home. “I totally broke down,” Brown said. “It showed her at the coroner’s office.”
Police say Amber Brown, 33, was struck and killed on June 19, 2025, while crossing Rancho Drive at Decatur Boulevard in a marked crosswalk. Authorities allege that Angel Franco Merida, 37, ran a red light and hit her before fleeing the scene.
Franco Merida was later arrested and charged with reckless driving resulting in death. He appeared in Las Vegas Justice Court, where a judge set his bond at $50,000. According to KLAS, he posted bond two days later.
Shortly after his release from jail, Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents took Franco Merida into custody. His attorney told a judge on June 24—five days after the arrest—that ICE had detained him. Court records obtained by KLAS show that a U.S. immigration judge granted Franco Merida voluntary departure in July 2025, after which he failed to appear for a scheduled hearing.
A warrant was issued for his arrest, but prosecutors say they have been unable to take him into custody because ICE deported him to Guatemala. Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson told KLAS that his office was never notified of the deportation.
“They snatched him and took him right under our noses before we even knew it,” Wolfson said. “As far as I’m concerned, the family was cheated.”
Prosecutors said that if Franco Merida had remained in Nevada, he could have faced one to six years in prison for Amber Brown’s death. Court records show the case was effectively closed in September after a judge exonerated his bond.
Cheri Brown said the outcome has left her devastated and angry. “I think it’s horrible,” she said. “They should bring him back. He should serve justice. He killed my daughter. Just because he is from another country—it shouldn’t be a free ticket to flee the country.”
ICE did not respond to requests for comment.
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