News

Who Was Driving The Car On The Las Vegas Strip?

by Melissah Yang

A deadly car crash in Las Vegas has put attention on who was driving the car that mowed down dozens of people on the Strip on Sunday. The incident happened at 6:40 p.m. local time on Las Vegas Boulevard, and the usually crowded street was empty between Harmon Avenue and Flamingo Road as police shut down traffic in both directions to sort through the chaos. The crash has left many questions unanswered. Update: The driver of the car has been identified as Lakeisha N. Holloway. Holloway will be charged with one count of murder. A motive has not yet been conclusively established.

The driver's identity has not been released by police, but authorities did disclose some information to reporters Sunday evening. The driver, an African American woman in her 20s, is in police custody and underwent tests for alcohol and controlled substances, according to Las Vegas Police Lt. Peter Boffelli. She will be charged within a few hours, Las Vegas Police Lt. Dan McGrath said. Police said she recently moved to the Las Vegas area.

According to NBC News, the driver was a woman who had a young child in the car as she swung onto the sidewalk and steered into pedestrian foot traffic. Police later confirmed a 3-year-old was in the car with her at the time of the incident, though the child was uninjured.

The driver did flee the scene and was detained at an off-the-Strip hotel, Tuscany Suites and Casino, not too far from the crash site. The car in question, a 1996 Oldsmobile, was found in a legal parking spot, police said. Authorities said the car was registered in Oregon.

Eyewitnesses accounts indicate that people attempted to stop the vehicle. One person told News 3 Las Vegas that a female driver was inside the car. "There was another guy who was right next to her passenger window, banging on the door to get it to stop, and then the car accelerated again, and that guy flew off the car," Los Angeles resident Michal Jackson said. "Then it made a right onto Flamingo Road, and that was the last we saw of the car."

Police said at least one person has died and another 37 were injured, seven of whom in critical condition. Authorities also said the incident appeared to be intentional, but it was not being treated as an act of terrorism.

This story is developing...