IN BRIEF
December 15, 2009 - 10:00 pm
DESERT INN ROAD TRAFFIC DEATH
Tourist killed while walking near the Strip is identified
The tourist struck and killed Wednesday by a suspected drunken driver has been identified as Dennis Chas Dietrick, 56, of Celebration, Fla.
Police said Dietrick was walking along Desert Inn Road just east of Channel 8 Drive, near the Strip, when Mahmoud Alseidamad of Las Vegas drove his Honda Civic onto the sidewalk striking two pedestrians.
Dietrick was pronounced dead at the scene. The car also struck Willard Hilborn, 60, of Rancho Mirage, Calif., who was taken to University Medical Center with serious injuries.
Alseidamad, 25, was arrested and booked into the Clark County Detention Center on a charge of felony driving under the influence resulting in death.
CHEYENNE AND PECOS
Homeless man found dead on burned mattress identified
A homeless man found dead on a burned mattress on Nov. 2 has been identified as 63-year-old Stephen Onder.
The Clark County coroner's office determined Onder died from thermal injury and soot-smoke inhalation, with ethanol intoxication being a contributing factor. The death was ruled an accident.
Onder's body was found atop a burned mattress at the intersection of Cheyenne Avenue and Pecos Road, Las Vegas police said. Investigators found money on his person, leading them to believe he had not been robbed. They suspect he fell asleep while smoking a cigarette.
I-15 AND RUSSELL ROAD
Female pedestrian struck, killed by truck on freeway
Southbound Interstate 15 was shut down near Russell Road shortly after 6 a.m. Monday because of a fatal accident involving a pedestrian, Nevada Highway Patrol officials said.
An unidentified woman was struck and killed by a truck while trying to cross the freeway, officials said.
The lanes were reopened about 9 a.m.
BAD WEATHER AT TAHOE AIRPORT
Pilot, passenger walk away from crash of small plane
The pilot and passenger in a single-engine plane walked away uninjured after crashing into several feet of snow while trying to land at the Truckee Tahoe Airport.
Police said the two San Francisco residents flew from San Carlos, Calif., in a six-seat turbo-prop TBM 850 and crashed just after sundown Sunday by a road near the airport.
The crash was said to be during limited visibility because of bad weather, in an unpopulated area and on the pilot's second attempt at a landing.
CRIMINAL CHARGES IN SLAYING
Fugitive to fight extradition from Las Vegas to Indiana
A 57-year-old fugitive held in Las Vegas in the slaying of his 40-year-old fiancee in Indiana told a judge he'll fight a transfer to face criminal charges.
The judge on Monday ordered Steven Farrell to remain at the Clark County jail without bail pending another extradition hearing on Thursday.
Indiana state police say Farrell faces murder and other charges in the Nov. 27 shooting death of Christine Craig of West Lafayette, Ind.