Driver may still face charges in fatal collision that killed officer

Calvin Darling might have passed his drug and alcohol tests, prompting authorities to release him from the Clark County Detention Center on Friday night, but he might not be in the clear.

Las Vegas police said Friday night that charges of driving under the influence resulting in death and failing to yield to an emergency vehicle still stand against the 45-year-old Bellagio worker while the investigation continues.

But how could he still be charged if blood tests showed he was below the legal limit of .08?

The answer depends on several factors, including how far below .08 he was, attorneys say. Authorities have not released his blood alcohol level, and Darling and his attorney were not able to be reached today for comment.

But according to his arrest report, Darling acknowledged having “three or four beers” in the nearly two hours leading up to the collision that killed Las Vegas police officer James Manor, 28.

Darling failed a “horizontal gaze” sobriety test, a technique used to detect eye oscillation that is associated with drinking. And investigators said his eyes were bloodshot and he smelled of alcohol.

Attorney John Momot said prosecutors would have to prove that whatever amount of alcohol was in his system — if any — was enough to impair his driving and cause the collision.

“It depends on a lot of the circumstances, of the accident reconstruction, the crime scene investigation, the toxicology results — all those factors are going to be weighed,” Momot said.

Under Nevada law, somebody can be convicted of a DUI involving alcohol if they are at or above the legal limit of .08, or are shown to be “driving under the influence.”

The latter can be difficult to prove, but it’s far from impossible.

In late March, 55-year-old Steven Murray was found guilty of killing a woman and seriously injuring another when he plowed his truck into a bus top last year.

Prosecutors claimed he was under the influence of prescription drugs, and Murray told police he took Percocet, a pain reliever, and Valium the night before. Witnesses saw him driving erratically after the crash and he failed a field sobriety test.

But a forensic toxicologist testified on Murray’s behalf that the drugs probably didn’t impair Murray because they were within the proper dosages for Murray’s prescriptions.

That didn’t keep a jury from convicting him. He awaits sentencing.

Theoretically, a person could be convicted with a blood alcohol level near zero, although attorney Vicki Greco said she’s never seen anyone charged whose blood alcohol level was anywhere near that level. She has had clients charged with driving under the influence with levels of .076 and .072.

In Darling’s case, she said it could come down to whether experts can prove whether whatever alcohol he had in his system impaired his driving, that is, if it even gets as far as a trial.

“If he admitted drinking, and there was a death related to negligence, and they can show that the death was as a result of being under the influence, then there might be a case,” she said.

Darling told police he had gotten off work at 11 p.m. and gone to a bar near Bally’s afterward, his arrest report states. He drove west on Flamingo Road and attempted to make a left turn onto Ravenwood Drive to go home.

At 12:49 p.m., he turned in front of Manor, who was heading east on Flamingo responding to a domestic violence call a mile and a half away.

Manor couldn’t avoid Darling’s pickup truck, and he died shortly after arriving at University Medical Center.

A witness saw Darling in the seconds after the crash retrieve a fire extinguisher from his truck bed and attempt to extinguish flames coming from Manor’s car.

Darling told police that he saw the car coming toward him but thought he had enough time to make the turn, his arrest report states.

Contact reporter Lawrence Mower at lmower@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0440.