Metro: Motorcyclist struck, killed by stolen Salvation Army bus after police pursuit

One person died on Wednesday after a man, driving a stolen Salvation Army bus, ran a red light and hit a motorcyclist.

Jalen Felton, 24, faces multiple DUI, hit-and-run, and larceny-related offenses after the Metropolitan Police and North Las Vegas Police departments said he sent officers on a pursuit in the west valley.

On Thursday, Las Vegas Justice of the Peace Suzan Baucum ordered Felton held without bail.

Police said Felton stole the bus from near Martin Luther King and Lake Mead boulevards, where the Salvation Army Las Vegas Rehabilitation Center is located, around 7 p.m. One passenger was still inside.

Both police departments chased Felton, who refused to stop and sped away, with patrol vehicles and using a Metro air unit, according to a news release. At some point, officers determined that the passenger had been let off the stolen transit bus, and the pursuit ended.

However, minutes later, the air unit reported that the bus was involved in a collision near West Tropicana Avenue and Grand Canyon Drive, police said.

It was there that Felton ran a red light and struck a motorcycle with the bus, police said. After the crash, he fled again and was later taken into custody and booked into the Clark County Detention Center.

“The bus traveled through portions of the valley during which the vehicle was driven recklessly and sustained tire failures,” a Metro spokesperson said Wednesday night.

The motorcyclist was pronounced dead at the scene, police said.

Felton previously pleaded guilty to domestic battery and received a suspended sentence in July. Baucum cited that case and Felton’s past failure to appear in court as reasons to deny him bail in the DUI case.

Contact Arlette Yousif at ayousif@reviewjournal.com. Follow @arletteyousif on Instagram. Contact Akiya Dillon at adillon@reviewjournal.com.