Woman sues sheriff’s office in Nye County crash that killed 3

A woman whose daughter was killed and son was injured in a March crash filed a lawsuit Friday against the Nye County Sheriff’s Office, alleging that deputies failed to arrest the suspected DUI driver before the crash.

On March 27, 33-year-old Tyler Kennedy veered into oncoming traffic on U.S. Highway 95 between Beatty and Goldfield, slamming into an Idaho family’s SUV, the Highway Patrol has said. The wreck killed Michael Durmeier, 39; his fiancee, Lauren Starcevich, 38; and Durmeier’s 12-year-old daughter, Georgia, all of Victor, Idaho.

Two other children were injured in the crash, the Highway Patrol has said. According to the lawsuit filed Friday in Nye County District Court, Georgia’s brother, Jackson Durmeier, suffered “life-threatening injuries and was rushed to the hospital, where he remained in a coma for weeks.”

Sheriff’s Office records released in July showed that on the same day of the crash, deputies were called to an Amargosa Valley RV park after someone reported Kennedy was armed and asking people for meth. But the interaction did not lead to an arrest, according to documents and a Nye County law enforcement official.

The lawsuit alleges that Kennedy was drunk and high on meth when he drove away from the RV park, crashing into the SUV a short time later.

Georgia and Jackson’s mother, Chelsea Roberts, also filed the suit against Kennedy and the Highway Patrol.

“Defendant Nye County Sheriff’s Office finally arrested Defendant Tyler Kennedy for driving under the influence and vehicular manslaughter,” Roberts’ lawyer wrote in the complaint. “But for their releasing Defendant Tyler Kennedy, this unfortunate incident and the deaths of three young members of their community would not have occurred.”

The Sheriff’s Office declined to comment on Monday on the lawsuit. The Highway Patrol did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Kennedy faces five counts each of driving under the influence and reckless driving, all causing death or substantial injury.

In October, he triggered a manhunt that lasted nearly 36 hours, the Sheriff’s Office said, after he cut his ankle monitor off and left a rehabilitation center in Las Vegas.

According to police records, deputies who were called to the RV park on March 27 arrived at 1:40 p.m. and found that the reported firearm Kennedy had was actually a cellphone. Capt. David Boruchowitz has said that deputies did not believe Kennedy was impaired.

“The determination at the scene was either the crime did not occur, or victim did not want to prosecute or it did not warrant prosecution, as no criminal case was pulled or done,” Boruchowitz said in October.

According to the lawsuit, deputies at the RV park “failed to give (Kennedy) a breathalyzer or any intoxication tests.”

Kennedy, who was injured in the wreck, was treated at University Medical Center in Las Vegas. When police interviewed him, he told investigators that he had seen an animal in the roadway and swerved to avoid it, causing the crash.

Witnesses did not report seeing an animal in the roadway, according to the documents.

A deputy who questioned Kennedy at the hospital said he seemed impaired, noting Kennedy had body tremors and constricted pupils, according to police documents.

At the scene, investigators collected a baggie of a “crystal-like substance” that appeared to be meth from Kennedy’s truck, police said. Kennedy told investigators that he takes Adderall and had used meth three days before to the crash.

Contact Katelyn Newberg at knewberg@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0240. Follow @k_newberg on Twitter.