Man charged in fatal bus stop crash was high on pot and meth, prosecutors say

A 20-year-old man was high on marijuana and methamphetamine when he crashed into a bus stop, killing a woman and her six-year-old granddaughter, a prosecutor said Tuesday.

Leonardo Ruesga told police he had smoked marijuana about an hour before the March 30 crash near the intersection of Sahara Avenue and Maryland Parkway. But he did not tell authorities about the methamphetamine, prosecutor Brian Rutledge said.

Ruesga tested positive for more than 100 nanograms of methamphetamine per milliliter of blood and more than two nanograms of marijuana per milliliter of blood, according to a criminal complaint.

Ruesga also said another vehicle cut him off and he lost control of his silver 2005 Volvo S60 before hitting Maria Garcia, 58, and her granddaughter Alyssa Aisa, 6, who were both killed. Leah Villa, 18 months old, was hurt, but has since been released from the hospital, police said.

Ruesga and a 15-year-old female passenger, who was not identified by police, were found hiding in the bedroom closet of a second story apartment at 713 E. Sahara Ave., about a half-mile away from the bus stop where the crash happened.

One witness reportedly honked his horn and chased Volvo to a nearby parking lot, where he saw two people get out of the car and run into an apartment complex, according to a police report.

Ruesga then said he was driving his friend’s car to Smith’s grocery store at Sahara and Maryland when a black Honda cut him off and “brake checked” him. He slammed on the brakes but couldn’t stop and had nowhere to go, Ruesga told police.

Rutledge said no witnesses reported seeing Ruesga’s car cut off by another vehicle.

“There’s no reason to believe that happened,” the prosecutor said.

Ruesga told police he couldn’t control the car because the rear passenger tire of the Volvo was flat. He said the crash happened so fast he didn’t know what happened when he hit the people and that he drove away because he was scared.

Ruesga said he hadn’t been drinking but had smoked “bud” between 1 and 2 p.m. that day, the report said. The crash happened about 2:30 p.m.

He faces two counts of DUI resulting in death and is being held without bail at the Clark County Detention Center.

Contact reporter David Ferrara at dferrara@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-1039. Find him on Twitter: @randompoker