Lamborghini driver hit 141 mph before killing moped rider, police say
A Texas man was driving a Lamborghini 141 mph in a 45 mph zone when the vehicle struck and killed a moped rider in the southwest Las Vegas Valley late Saturday, police said.
Las Vegas police also say in an arrest report that the driver of the Lamborghini, Andrew James Rodriguez, 33, of New Braunfels, was suspected of alcohol impairment. He was booked into the Clark County Detention Center on suspicion of driving under the influence causing death, reckless driving and driving without a valid license.
“I killed someone,” an investigating officer quoted Rodriguez as saying at the scene of the crash on Russell Road at Rogers Street at 11:50 p.m.
Police said Rodriguez was driving a 2017 Lamborghini Huracan with a Minnesota license plate west on Russell when it slammed into the back of the TaoTao moped driven by Walter Richard Anderson, 58, of Las Vegas. Anderson died at the scene.
“The Lamborghini collided with the rear of the moped with such force that the moped became lodged under the right front of the Lamborghini,” officers said.
Police said they “immediately observed signs of impairment,” noting Rodriguez had watery eyes and smelled of alcohol. Police said Rodriguez admitted to drinking before the crash. He did not have a valid license and was identified by law enforcement via a passport, police said.
Rodriguez is also not the registered owner of the vehicle. Two witnesses who are friends of Rodriguez said they were in another Lamborghini, traveling alongside Rodriguez’s vehicle, when Rodriguez suddenly sped off from them before the crash.
A woman who was riding with Rodriguez said the pair were “joyriding” as they headed to a party and that Rodriguez was driving “pretty fast” at the time of the collision, police said in the arrest report.
Police said the estimated speed of the vehicle just before the crash was determined by an analysis of data recovered from the Huracan. The car decreased to 127 mph at the time of air bag deployment. Blood draws were taken from Rodriguez, but his blood-alcohol content was not detailed in the report.
A criminal complaint had not been filed in the case.
Rodriguez was expected to appear in Las Vegas Justice Court on Wednesday.
Contact Glenn Puit by email at gpuit@reviewjournal.com. Follow @GlennatRJ on Twitter.
