Las Vegas police make arrest in bicyclist’s death after crash videos surface, 8 News Now investigation
LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — Las Vegas Metro police made an arrest Thursday in a fatal crash, which killed a 32-year-old BMX champion, a week after the 8 News Now Investigators showed videos appearing to show the driver speeding.
Nathan “Nate” Miller died hours after a car crashed into him while he was riding a bike northbound on Nellis Boulevard near Tropicana Avenue in the southeast valley on Sept. 23, Las Vegas Metro police said.
Video appeared to show a car speeding and quickly changing lanes before crashing into Miller, killing him. The 8 News Now Investigators aired a report on Wednesday, Oct. 18, because at that point, the driver was not facing any charges.
Videos the 8 News Now Investigators obtained appeared to show the car jerking back and forth before colliding with Miller. The car then crashed into a fence and a parked vehicle, police said. Miller’s friends had contacted the 8 News Now Investigators asking why there were no apparent consequences.
Officers arrested the driver, identified as Julius Hopkins, 32, on Thursday, they said. He faced charges of reckless driving resulting in death, child abuse or endangerment, and having no driver’s license, registration, or insurance, police said.
The crash report the 8 News Now Investigators obtained reveals an officer deemed Hopkins at fault for the crash, though “no enforcement action [was] taken.”
The officer noted on the report that neither alcohol nor drugs were involved, however, there was no check box on the form for how the officer made that determination.
The crash report also listed the driver alone in the car, but a news release said the driver was with two passengers. The child endangerment charge was likely related to the child passenger.
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