Driver runs down 30+ people on Vegas strip, at least 1 dead

[Velar Fricative]

Holy shit. And she had a 3-year-old in the car!

www.cnn.com/2015/12/21/us/las-vegas-strip-pedestrians-hit/

(CNN)A driver veered onto a crowded sidewalk several times on the Las Vegas Strip, injuring more than 30 people in what authorities described as an "intentional" act.



At least one person was killed and 37 others injured near the Paris Las Vegas Hotel on Sunday night, authorities said.



Witnesses said the woman was driving down Las Vegas Boulevard before her car jumped onto the sidewalk and started striking pedestrians.



She allegedly drove the 1996 Oldsmobile sedan onto the sidewalk at different spots and hit more people before barreling down the road.



'Not an act of terrorism'

Police arrested the driver, and she is undergoing tests for alcohol and controlled substances. A 3-year-old in the car with her was unharmed.



Authorities ruled out terrorism but said an initial investigation showed the driver did it deliberately.



"This was not an act of terrorism," said Brett Zimmerman, a Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department deputy chief. "We are treating this as an intentional act."



The driver, who is in her 20s, went onto the sidewalk at least three or four times, according to Zimmerman.



Homicide division officials are looking at numerous surveillance videos from the Strip.



She 'just kept mowing people down'

Antonio Nassar said people scrambled to stop the woman as she drove on the sidewalk.



"The car rolled right in front of me. By the time I looked over to the right, all you could see was (her) driving away, and people were bouncing off the front of the car," Nassar told CNN affiliate KLAS.



"She rode the sidewalk, she came to a stop at the Paris intersection, people are punching into the window. ... She accelerated again and just kept mowing people down."



Another witness, Sofie Kitteroed, told CNN's "New Day" that bystanders rushed to the scene to help bleeding victims.



Emergency vehicles were trying to cut through traffic to get there, she said. Convoys of ambulances and police cars gathered at various spots, their lights flashing.



Justin Cochrane said he was having dinner at a patio restaurant when he suddenly saw the car.



It slowed down, turned toward the sidewalk and accelerated, he said.



The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department urged witnesses to flag down officers at the scene and give them a statement.





A portion of Las Vegas Boulevard was closed after the incident. It will reopen Monday morning, the Police Department said.



'She was looking straight forward'

Witnesses described disturbing scenes as crowds fled.



"Everyone was running ... and as I was running, I saw a car up on the sidewalk coming toward us," a witness told KLAS. "I saw a lady ... she didn't seem like she wanted to stop the car, she had both hands on her wheel, and she was looking straight forward."



Others tried to stop the driver and drag the toddler out, she said.



"I saw men running after her, yelling, 'Stop, stop!' As she was passing, we saw people running after her. Everyone was so frantic and just running around."



Traffic snaked down the streets as cars were diverted near the Paris Las Vegas Hotel.



The Las Vegas Strip is lined with luxury hotels and casinos, and it is filled with revelers taking in the neon lights on any given night.



Shortly after the crash, the Strip emptied, an unfamiliar sight in the heart of the vibrant city.

[meshaliuknits]

OMG. The sidewalks in Vegas are always teeming with people.

[jln]

This is terrible. I'm hoping it's not intentional. Not that DUI is any better...

[NewOrleans]

With a toddler in the car? Kill her.

[marriedfilingjoint]

I want to respond to this but I just don't have words.

[jillboston]

Why aren't they releasing her name? This happened at 9:30 EST for goodness sake.

[jln]

abcnews.go.com/US/arizona-woman-idd-las-vegas-strip-crash-fatality/story?id=35888429

Lakeisha Holloway, 24, Was Driver in Deadly Las Vegas Strip Crash, Police Say

A 24-year-old woman, believed to be from the Oregon area, was the woman who drove a car on a sidewalk and through a crowd on the Las Vegas Strip Sunday, killing one and injuring over 30 others, officials said today.

Lakeisha Holloway is in custody and facing one count of murder with the use of a deadly weapon, the district attorney's office said. She may face additional charges including multiple counts of attempted murder with the use of a deadly weapon, child abuse and neglect and leaving the scene of an accident.

Officials say they have ruled out terrorism as a possible motive. However, they do believe the incident was "an intentional act," based upon the car's movements. The suspect went up on the sidewalk "two, maybe three times," according to police.

The sheriff said she was very stoic and didn’t appear to be "distressed" from her actions.

"The video [of the incident] obviously shows intention," the sheriff said today.

Holloway had been in Las Vegas for about a week and living in a car, officials said today. She said it was her car, but the car was registered to another person in Oregon, officials said.

Holloway could be in court as early as Tuesday, the district attorney's office said. The investigation is ongoing, the sheriff said.

Jessica Valenzuela, 32, of Buckeye, Arizona, died from the accident, the Clark County, Nevada, Coroner's Office said today. The cause and manner of death are pending.

Over 30 people were hospitalized, officials said today, and three people remain in critical condition.

The female suspect drove off after the incident, but police caught up with her and she was detained, Clark County officials said.

A 3-year-old girl was in the suspect's car at the time of the crash, but the child was unharmed, police said.

[marriedfilingjoint]

"The Oregon area"? She's from Oregon. The state. It's a huge state. Christ.

[thejen626]

There's a Stephen King book that starts like this. When I was reading it, I thought "I hope no one reads this and starts doing this."

[teflepi]

It was intentional and she has been there for a time (homeless, I believe), On her way to the baby's father in TX. People were on the hood and knocking on her window to get her to stop while she hopped the curb 2-3 times. Awful.

[zelda25]

Dec 21, 2015 17:40:45 GMT -5 thejen626 said:

There's a Stephen King book that starts like this. When I was reading it, I thought "I hope no one reads this and starts doing this."