‘Not accidents’: Experts weigh in on driver allowed to continue after speeding

Before Nevada lawmakers decriminalized traffic tickets, law enforcement had the right to arrest a driver for basic speeding violations.

But longtime defense attorney Thomas Boley said they “really didn’t all that often.”

Boley, who has represented people charged with DUI and other traffic offenses for 15 years, said there are far fewer traffic cases since the Nevada legislature turned most traffic tickets into civil infractions in 2021.

Last month, Las Vegas police officers found a speeding ticket in Fahid Amin’s crashed vehicle at a Summerlin intersection. Amin had just caused a crash that left an elderly woman dead and her husband injured.

Susan Rynas, 81, a passenger in a 2014 Toyota Corolla, died Nov. 12 after Amin’s 2021 Acura TLX crashed into the Corolla at the intersection of Charleston Boulevard and Merialdo Lane, near Durango Drive.

Police determined the Acura was going more than 70 mph prior to the crash.

Boley said Amin’s speed of 94 mph just before the crash was close to what is now the criminal limit but said most police agencies aren’t arresting drivers. This is seen in court when people with criminal traffic citations appear out of custody.

“It’s kind of a balancing act too,” Boley said. “Because if you arrest everybody for that obviously you’re going to fill the jails up.”

During the first traffic stop, Amin apologized to a Nevada Highway Patrol trooper for speeding and said it was his first time being pulled over.

The trooper told him to drive slower. Six hours later, the fatal collision occurred as the 35-year-old Amin’s car slammed into the Corolla turning left on a flashing yellow light.

“This person’s probably going to die … just send somebody out,” a 911 caller on scene told a police dispatcher.

Rynas died at the scene, police said. Her husband, 80-year-old Michael Rynas, suffered moderate injuries and was hospitalized.

An online obituary posted by the National Alliance on Mental Illness Eastside, WA said that Susan and Michael Rynas helped co-found the organization in Washington in 2001.

“Susan’s impact is immeasurable, and her legacy continues to resonate through every aspect of NAMI Eastside,” the obituary read. “As we grieve her loss, we also celebrate the profound difference she made in the lives of many.”

Michael Rynas declined to comment Tuesday but shared the obituary.

‘Largest break possible’

Body worn and dash camera video from Nevada Highway Patrol Trooper Tyler Tomasek showed the trooper pull over a speeding Acura just after 8 a.m. the same day on the 215 Beltway near the Russell Road exit. The stop lasted about five minutes.

Tomasek explained that he was giving Amin “the largest break possible,” by citing him for going 1-10 mph over the speed limit despite Amin driving 94 mph in a 65 mph zone.

Nevada Highway Patrol did not respond despite multiple requests for comment.

Amin’s attorney in the DUI case, Steven Altig, did not respond for comment.

In the DUI case, Boley said, Amin is likely to face serious consequences because of the injury and death he is alleged to have caused.

“When people commit pretty egregious traffic offenses while they’re intoxicated, very intoxicated especially, they’re going to get more time,” Boley said. “They’re going to get more than the minimum at least.”

Amin did not contest his speeding ticket and paid a $150 fine, Las Vegas Justice Court records show.

In his criminal case, the Clark County district attorney’s office charged Amin with two counts of DUI resulting in death or injury and two counts of reckless driving causing death or injury.

He posted $50,000 bail the day after the crash and remains out of custody. Amin is due in court on Jan. 31.

‘Not accidents’

Dr. Deborah Kuhls, a trauma surgeon and UNLV researcher, said Nevada drivers need to realize that the behavior of individuals can turn vehicles in to weapons.

“What we do know is that speeding is associated with crashes and it’s associated with people who really die on our roadways,” Kuhls said.

Kuhls and other researchers at the Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine spent the last year looking at Nevada non-adjudicated speeding citation data. She called citations “a beacon of concern” for the behavior of Nevada drivers.

“It’s really important that I think we change our language,” Kuhls said. “These are not accidents and that there is human behavior involved in more than half of traffic crashes that happen in Nevada.”

Contact David Wilson at dwilson@reviewjournal.com.