Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Police: Driver estimated he’d had one beer before fatal bus stop crash

Gary Lee Hosey Jr. Makes Initial Appearance

Steve Marcus

Gary Lee Hosey Jr., the suspected driver of the car that crashed into the bus stop on Spring Mountain Road on Thursday, Sept. 13, 2013, makes an initial appearance at the Regional Justice Center Monday, Sept. 17, 2012. Four people died and eight were injured in the accident.

Updated Monday, Sept. 17, 2012 | 10:56 a.m.

Gary Lee Hosey Jr. Makes Initial Appearance

Gary Lee Hosey Jr., the suspected driver of the car that crashed into the bus stop on Spring Mountain Road Thursday, enters the courtroom for an initial appearance at the Regional Justice Center Monday, Sept. 17, 2012. Four people died and eight were injured in the accident. Launch slideshow »

Gary Lee Hosey Jr. was hurrying home to return a borrowed car to his girlfriend when he struck a bus shelter full of people standing along Spring Mountain Road last week, killing four, according to statements Hosey made to police.

And despite registering over the legal limit for alcohol on a portable breath test, the 23-year-old told officers he'd had approximately one alcoholic beverage -- a Budweiser beer -- before the accident.

Hosey told police he had been out at an Ethiopian bar near Spring Mountain Road and Jones Boulevard with friends early Thursday morning when he realized he needed to return his girlfriend’s 2001 Chevrolet Monte Carlo so she could get to work by 7 a.m., according to an arrest report released Monday.

According to witnesses, including a Metro Police officer who was at a convenience store near the accident site, the car was traveling at a high rate of speed eastbound on Spring Mountain when it came upon a dip in the roadway and went airborne. The Monte Carlo struck a large metal pole denoting the height for vehicles to pass through the drive-thru at a Carl's Jr. restaurant, then, continuing off road, struck the bus shelter and several pedestrians in it. The vehicle also rolled several times, based on witness statements and victims.

Hosey estimated he was traveling 60 mph in the 45 mile per hour zone immediately before the accident, police said. At least one other witness estimated the car's speed around 100 mph

Officers responding to the scene reported Hosey had bloodshot, watery eyes, slurred speech, an unsteady gait, and smelled of alcohol, the report said. A preliminary breath test showed Hosey’s blood alcohol level was over the legal limit of .08, the report said.

Hosey was arrested on four counts of felony driving under the influence causing death, and made his first court appearance on Monday.

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