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).
A Nevada mother discovered the tragic fate of her daughter, who was killed in a hit-and-run, through her phone’s location data. It indicated that her daughter was at the coroner’s office. Now, she is pursuing justice against the driver, who was deported to Guatemala by ICE, complicating prosecution efforts, as confirmed by the local district attorney.
“I was completely devastated,” Cheri Brown, the mother of Amber Brown, shared with Las Vegas CBS affiliate KLAS. “The location showed she was at the coroner’s office.”
Amber Brown, 33, tragically lost her life while crossing Rancho Drive at Decatur Boulevard in a marked crosswalk on June 19, 2025. According to police reports, Angel Franco Merida, 37, ran a red light and struck her. It wasn’t until hours later that her mother learned of the incident, KLAS reports.
“When she didn’t return home, I began to panic,” Cheri Brown recalled.
Franco Merida fled the scene but was subsequently apprehended and charged with reckless driving resulting in death, according to authorities. He appeared in Las Vegas Justice Court, where he was granted a $50,000 bond, which he posted just two days after the alleged incident.
Shortly after his release from jail, ICE agents detained him, KLAS reports.
“My understanding is that he was taken by ICE,” Franco Merida’s attorney told a judge on June 24, five days after his arrest. A U.S. immigration judge granted him a voluntary departure in July 2025 and he failed to appear at the next hearing he had scheduled, according to court records obtained by KLAS.
A warrant was issued for Franco Merida’s arrest, but authorities have been unable to take him in because ICE deported the man to Guatemala, prosecutors say. Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson told KLAS that ICE never notified his office or told him about the deportation.
“They snatched him and took him right under our noses before we even knew it,” Wolfson said this week. “As far as I’m concerned, the family was cheated. They were cheated in the state court system where he’s being prosecuted.”
KLAS reports that if he was still in Nevada, Franco Merida would have faced a potential prison sentence of one to six years behind bars for Amber Brown’s death. Records show that the case was effectively closed in September after a judge exonerated his bond.
“I think it’s horrible,” Cheri Brown blasted. “I think that 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 just flee the country.”
ICE did not respond to Law&Crime’s requests for comment on Thursday.
