Cyclist Dies After Being Deliberately Hit By a Passenger in a Car
Two people have died after a passenger leaned out the window of a moving car and struck a cyclist. Neither of their identities have been released yet.
The driver of the vehicle, identified as 22-year-old Rodrigo Cruz, initially fled the scene but was later taken into custody.
The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department called it a “senseless act.”
A middle-aged, female cyclist has died after being deliberately struck by a passenger hanging out of the window of a moving vehicle. Both the cyclist and the passenger died at the scene.
The act of violence happened around 7:30a.m. Sunday morning in East Las Vegas, along Hollywood Boulevard near Wildcat Way.
According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, the vehicle—a minivan—was driving down Hollywood Boulevard, seemingly racing a few other vehicles. Witnesses reported that the driver of the minivan swerved, and the man in the passenger seat leaned out the window in an attempt to hit two pedestrians, a man and his wife; they saw the van swerve towards them and were able to get out of the way.
The driver of the minivan then approached the female cyclist riding in the bike lane, and the passenger leaning out the window collided with her. The cyclist was injured when she fell to the ground and died on the scene, and the passenger fell out of the car.
“He traveled along the asphalt for about 150 feet, striking his head on a street light,” Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department homicide lieutenant Ray Spencer said at a press briefing on Sunday afternoon.
The cyclist is described as a woman in her mid-50s. The passenger who struck her is described as a male between the ages of 18 and 22. Their identities have not yet been released by the Clark County Coroner’s Office.
The driver of the minivan has been identified as 22-year old Rodrigo Cruz. He fled the scene but was later apprehended by police.
“There’s no reason behind, that I can tell you, as to why it occurred, other than complete stupidity,” Spencer said, calling it a “senseless act.”
Cruz, the driver, has been arrested for “Open Murder, Duty to Stop at the Scene of an Accident, and for Violating the Conditions of his Parole,” according the police press release.
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