|
 Lakeisha Holloway, 24, intentionally drove her 1996 Oldsmobile
into pedestrians on the crowded walkway as bystanders tried to open
the car door in a futile attempt to stop her, Las Vegas Metropolitan
Police Sheriff Joe Lombardo said.
Holloway, who was living in her sedan with her toddler, surrendered
to officers a short distance from the scene, Lombardo told a news
conference on Monday.
U.S. law enforcement has been on heightened alert since 14 people
died in a Dec. 2 shooting massacre in San Bernardino, California, by
a married couple inspired by Islamist militants.
Lombardo said Holloway made a statement to police explaining her
motive. He declined to relate what she said, other than that the
incident did not appear to be a militant attack.
 Holloway told detectives she had a stressful time on Sunday, trying
to rest and sleep inside her vehicle, but that she was told to move
by security guards at the properties where she stopped, an arrest
report said.
Holloway's license was suspended by the Oregon DMV in 2012 and again
by (Portland's) Multnomah County in 2013 and had not been
reinstated, an Oregon Department of Transportation spokeswoman said
on Monday.
Clark County District Attorney Steven Wolfson said his office
planned to bring charges of murder with use of a deadly weapon and
other counts against Holloway, who was held without bail. Jessica
Valenzuela, 32, of Buckeye, Arizona, died from injuries after she
was struck, the Clark County Coroner-Medical Examiner's office said.
Other victims included visitors from Colorado, Florida, Mexico and
Quebec, Canada.
[to top of second column] |
Holloway, who is from Oregon, had been living in her car in Las
Vegas for about a week with her three-year-old daughter, Lombardo
said.
The child, who was in the car when Holloway drove into the
pedestrians, was uninjured and is in protective custody, Lombardo
said.
In 2012, Holloway received an award from a Portland career-mentoring
nonprofit for being a role model for high school students, said The
Skanner, a community website in the Pacific Northwest.
In the story, Holloway described her mother as having "turned to
alcohol, leaving Lakeisha to fend for herself". Holloway was
homeless during her freshman year in high school, but had since
graduated, the story said.
(Writing by Alex Dobuzinskis, Eric M. Johnson, Brendan O'Brien;
Editing by Gareth Jones)
[© 2015 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
Copyright 2015 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
 |
