Police: Motorcyclist used drugs before crash that killed elderly woman on scooter
A motorcyclist accused in a DUI crash that killed an elderly woman on a mobility scooter told police he injected methamphetamine and heroin in a public bathroom before the crash, according to his arrest report.
Darin McCuistion, 58, of Las Vegas, was arrested on Oct. 3 and charged with driving under the influence resulting in death, reckless driving, operating an expired or unregistered vehicle, and driving without proof of insurance. Police said that the crash happened on South Torrey Pines Drive, north of Hyde Avenue, just before 8 p.m.
Court records show that McCuistion was on probation and still involved in a specialty drug court when the crash happened.
Police said McCuistion was riding a motorcycle south on Torrey Pines at about 85 mph when he collided with 78-year-old Jodie Collins-Wells, who was crossing the street on a mobility scooter.
Collins-Wells, who, according to a witness, “flew across the street” upon impact, was taken to the University Medical Center and died shortly after.
McCuistion, who was also treated for “suspected serious injuries” at the hospital, told police who interviewed him there that he had injected drugs into his leg at a Starbucks earlier that morning, according to the Metropolitan Police Department.
The report also stated that a Metro officer observed McCuistion’s eyes were “pinpoint,” meaning his pupils were abnormally small, and noted visible track marks on his legs from previous injections.
A nationwide criminal history records check revealed that McCustion, who was born in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, had been arrested for DUI twice before, once in 2003 and another time in 2006, police said. The Suzuki motorcycle he was driving had not been registered in any state, and the license plate affixed to it had been issued to a 2008 BMW motorcycle, according to the report.
Records from Las Vegas courts show that over the past 20 years, McCuistion has had multiple convictions, including misdemeanor theft and petit larceny.
In 2021, a District Court judge sentenced him to a suspended prison sentence of 19 to 48 months after he pleaded guilty to grand larceny, court documents show. He was placed on probation, and his case was transferred to drug court.
McCuiston was due in court Monday for an initial appearance in his DUI case and again for a probation revocation hearing in his larceny case.
Contact Akiya Dillon at adillon@reviewjournal.com.
