Las Vegas police: Driver intentionally ran over girlfriend
Investigators have determined a minivan driver charged with murder in his girlfriend’s death “floored” the car in reverse and intentionally ran her over north of the Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas sign, according to a police report.
John Treese, 39, provided differing accounts of how he put a 2006 Honda Odyssey in reverse and ran over his girlfriend, Lisa Ann Gori, 52, but repeatedly insisted it was an accident, a Metropolitan Police Department arrest report said.
Las Vegas police said they believe the couple argued because Gori wanted to drive the minivan, and she got out and walked on the median about 9:20 p.m. Feb. 17 at Las Vegas Boulevard South and Russell Road.
Crash investigators determined the minivan’s gas pedal must have been “floored” for several seconds as it jumped the median, ran over Gori, continued to accelerate, spun off the median and came to rest on the opposite side of the street, the report said. Gori died at University Medical Center.
“He could not explain why that occurred other than to say he panicked,” the report said of Treese.
Treese told police the incident unfolded quickly, but evidence at the scene suggested Gori had time to get out of the car and gather her things before Treese put the minivan in reverse, the report shows.
A limo driver told police he watched the minivan run her over. He attempted to help her, and noticed Treese was “acting erratic, and tried to get back into the van,” the report said. The driver’s customers got out and stopped him from getting back in, according to the report.
Treese passed a field sobriety test and had a 0.067 blood-alcohol content, the report said. He initially denied to police that he had been drinking, but he later admitted he had, according to the report.
Prosecutors charged Treese with murder last week. He remained in Clark County Detention Center as of Saturday night.
Contact Mike Shoro at mshoro@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5290. Follow @mike_shoro on Twitter.
