LAS VEGAS, Dec. 21 (UPI) — Las Vegas public safety officials have identified the driver charged in the Las Vegas strip crash that on Sunday night killed one person and injured at least 36 others.
The suspect is Lakeisha Holloway, 24, of Oregon. Holloway had arrived in Las Vegas about a week before, and was homeless, living in her car with her 3-year-old daughter.
Carter County Sheriff Joe Lombardo said Holloway’s daughter was in the car at about 6:30 p.m. Sunday when Holloway plowed through the crowd in what video shows was an intentional act. The toddler was not injured.
After her initial drive into the crowd, Holloway reportedly veered her car away, then back into the panicked crowd.
The person killed when Holloway’s 1996 Oldsmobile drove through the crowd was Jessica Valenzuela, 32, of Buckeye, Ariz.
Six people are in critical condition at four local hospitals, police said. Lombardo said at least three of the victims in critical condition are suffering with serious head injuries.
Lombardo said Holloway had been parking her car in area lots after her departure from Oregon, which followed a falling out with her child’s father, reportedly a Texas resident. Holloway had been parking in area lots near the crash site, near Planet Hollywood, on Las Vegas Boulevard, the sheriff said.
Lombardo said Holloway had indicated a motive, but he was not going to make it public at present.
Holloway will be charged with one act of murder with a deadly weapon, multiple counts of attempted murder with deadly weapon, child abuse and neglect, and leaving the scene of an accident. Las Vegas officials said. Additional charges are being considered.
Lombardo said Holloway may have been traveling east to reach the child’s father. Lombardo added that he is confident the incident was not a terrorism-inspired act.
