Las Vegas judge orders $100K bail in fatal DUI crash

A man charged with driving under the influence and causing a seven-vehicle crash that left one person dead in Las Vegas was ordered held on $100,000 bail Monday.

Kevin Raspperry, 34, of Henderson, remained hospitalized as Las Vegas Justice of the Peace Ann Zimmerman set his bail and ordered him not to drive should he be released.

The crash occurred at 7:54 a.m. Sunday near Tropicana Avenue and Rainbow Boulevard, according to the Metropolitan Police Department.

Police say Raspperry was headed west on Tropicana in a 2014 Toyota Avalon and ran a red light at the intersection with Rainbow at a high speed before his vehicle collided with a 2013 Nissan Pathfinder traveling south on Rainbow. The Nissan “was forced airborne and into a roll,” according to a Sunday night statement from the Metropolitan Police Department.

The Nissan struck three other vehicles, causing one of them to hit the side of a Regional Transportation Commission bus. Debris from the crash struck another car stopped at the intersection.

The Nissan’s driver, Marcial Escobia, 65, of Las Vegas and a passenger in the vehicle, a 66-year-old woman, were transported to University Medical Center in critical condition, according to the Metro statement. Escobia died at the hospital, and the woman remained in critical condition Sunday night.

Two other people in the crash were treated for minor to serious injuries and released, police said.

Their identities were not immediately available Monday morning.

Raspperry showed signs of impairment and was arrested, according to the Metro statement. He faces charges of DUI resulting in death and reckless driving.

After Raspperry’s case was heard in court, Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson said Raspperry was “entitled to the presumption of innocence,” as are others accused in criminal cases.

“However, when I read about cases like this, my first reaction is that I continue to be astonished and angry on how people can let this happen to themselves,” he said. “There are so many ways to avoid the carnage that this man caused. He ruined people’s lives and probably his own … .”

Court records indicate that Raspperry has at least two convictions for DUI in Las Vegas, which the judge noted during Monday’s hearing.

“Because of that, I believe he poses a serious danger to the community,” Zimmerman said. “There’s no reason for anybody to get a DUI with Uber, Lyft, taxis. Stay home. Anything.”

Contact David Ferrara at dferrara@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-1039. Follow @randompoker on Twitter.