Suspect to face DUI, other charges in Nye County wreck that killed 3
An Arizona man has been bound over for trial in Nye County on DUI and reckless driving charges in connection with a deadly March crash in rural Nevada.
Nye County District Attorney Chris Arabia said Tyler Kennedy, 33, of Tolleson, was bound over this week to District Court in Tonopah on 10 felonies following a two-day preliminary hearing in Beatty Justice Court. The charges include five counts each of driving under the influence and reckless driving, all causing death or substantial injury.
The Nevada Highway Patrol said Kennedy was behind the wheel of a pickup that crossed into oncoming traffic, then slammed head-on into an Idaho family’s sport utility vehicle March 27 on U.S. Highway 95 between Beatty and Goldfield. The wreck killed Michael Durmeier, 39; his fiancee, Lauren Starcevich, 38; and Durmeier’s 12-year-old daughter, Georgia — all of Victor, Idaho. Two other children in the SUV were seriously injured.
The family was traveling to Las Vegas, then to the Grand Canyon for a vacation.
Arabia’s office said in a news release Thursday that Kennedy is charged with driving under the influence “of methamphetamine and/or fentanyl.” A Nevada Highway Patrol arrest report obtained by the Las Vegas Review-Journal also indicates witnesses told investigators they saw Kennedy’s pickup speeding and passing vehicles on the shoulder of the highway prior to the crash.
Kennedy will be arraigned Oct. 19.
“This was an important step toward getting some measure of justice for people who lost so much,” Arabia said.
Kennedy’s defense attorney could not immediately be reached for comment on Thursday.
Kennedy told troopers after the crash that he saw an animal in the road and swerved to avoid it, causing the crash.
Contact Glenn Puit by email at gpuit@reviewjournal.com. Follow @GlennatRJ on Twitter.
