Michael Reich Faces prison sentence ranging from two to 21 years

A man who ran over an off-duty Las Vegas police officer with a tractor-trailer, then left the victim to die on a stretch of road near Red Rock Canyon has pleaded guilty to multiple felonies.

Michael Reich, 27, faces a potential prison sentence ranging from two to 21 years for his guilty plea to charges of reckless driving, leaving the scene of an accident and assault with a deadly weapon in the 2005 death of Don Albietz.

Albietz's wife, Minta, said Monday she's disappointed Reich won't face more time when he is sentenced in June.

"My husband was not only a policeman. He was a husband who coached Little League, soccer and football," Minta Albietz said. "Here was this great guy, and now he's not here anymore because of someone like this."

Reich's attorney, Christy Craig of the Clark County Public Defender's Office, said Reich is remorseful. "It was a horrible accident," Craig said.

Don Albietz was training for a triathlon, riding a bicycle on the side of state Route 159 on July 20 when he was struck from behind by Reich's truck. Reich briefly pulled over, and a witness, Joseph Foppiano, said he approached Reich's truck after the accident. Foppiano started to ask Reich to use his radio to call for help when Reich jumped back in his truck and sped away.

Don Albietz died eight days later.

Minta Albietz said Monday that beyond Reich's reckless and callous behavior, the accident demonstrates that Route 159 -- the winding road that leads to Red Rock -- is a lethal stretch of highway.

The road is popular with bicyclists and joggers, but in recent years, the population growth in Pahrump and on nearby state Route 160, commonly referred to as Blue Diamond Road, have translated into a mass of traffic migrating to Route 159 as an alternate route to and from Las Vegas.

The speed limit on Route 159 used to be 45 mph, but it was raised to 60 mph several years ago.

Minta Albietz said a grass- roots effort has been under way to make the road safer, but, in her opinion, nothing has been done by state or county officials, even though almost 10 months have passed since her husband's death.

"They need to lower the speed limit," she said. "And now the Red Rock casino is out there. Forget about it. People will pass you with a double yellow line, wanting to do 100 miles per hour."

A spokesman for the Nevada Department of Transportation could not immediately be reached after hours on Monday, but according to recent news releases from the agency, NDOT is in the process of trying to make the road safer.

NDOT will widen the shoulders of certain sections of the road, install bike lanes from near the Las Vegas Beltway to Route 160, and implement other measures including rumble strips.

"Once these projects have been implemented this summer, NDOT will study their effectiveness and further examine other potential safety measures, including monitoring vehicle speeds," NDOT said in a statement.

Heather Fisher is behind an effort known as the Nevada Scenic Byways Coalition, which seeks to make Route 159 safer. More information on the endeavor can be found at saveredrock.com.

Fisher said there clearly needs to be a larger law enforcement presence on the road. Sgt. Greg Weeks supervised Don Albietz, and he said he believes Route 159 is one of the most dangerous roads in the Las Vegas Valley.

He said the road is so dangerous for several reasons, including motorists' excessive speed, increased traffic flow, and the variation of users -- from heavy construction traffic to daily commuters in a hurry to get to and from Las Vegas.