Las Vegas Sun

April 23, 2024

Court hearing reset for man held in fatal tour bus crash

A Las Vegas court hearing has been reset for a man charged with causing a fiery fatal sightseeing bus crash while driving drunk and on drugs last Labor Day weekend.

Defense attorney Steven Yeager said Friday he told a judge Thursday he was preparing for an unrelated trial and needed to reschedule the preliminary hearing for Jonathan Carrington Donner.

Prosecutor Brian Rutledge didn't oppose the delay. The hearing is scheduled for March 17.

Donner, 25, was arrested after the Sept. 5 crash and is being held at the Clark County jail on $1 million bail.

He's accused of having more than 2.5 times the legal limit of alcohol, along with cocaine residue and the painkiller hydrocodone in his system when he allegedly sped through a red light and crashed the BMW he was driving into the tour bus, causing it to overturn and burst into flames. The BMW also caught fire and collided with another vehicle.

Tour driver Jose Francisco Cosenza and German tourist Rolf Kloeppel died in the burning bus. Kloeppel's wife and a couple from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, were badly injured.

Donner received moderate injuries. The driver of the other car wasn't hurt.

He faces two charges of driving under the influence causing death and three charges of DUI causing substantial bodily harm. He could face up to 100 years in prison if convicted of all charges.

Records showed that Donner was on bail at the time of the Las Vegas crash following his arrest in July in the rural Mineral County town of Hawthorne, Nevada, on felony drug and marijuana possession and transport charges. He also faced two misdemeanor charges, including driving under the influence.

Join the Discussion:

Check this out for a full explanation of our conversion to the LiveFyre commenting system and instructions on how to sign up for an account.

Full comments policy