Woman arraigned in fatal crash

Still in a wheelchair, Josephine Moulchin was arraigned today on charges she was driving drunk during the wrong way, head-on collision last month on U.S. 95.

Attorneys for Moulchin, whose blood-alcohol level was tested at 0.24 percent after the Aug. 25 incident, complained the woman's foot was not being treated appropriately at the Clark County Detention Center and asked she be released pending her trial.

The lawyers said there is a possibility the foot may need to be amputated.

But Justice of the Peace Nancy Oesterle refused to set bail, although she ordered the case back into court today to ensure the jail was meeting the woman's medical needs.

The judge also set an Oct. 5 preliminary hearing date, although Deputy District Attorney Gary Booker said the case likely will be presented to a Clark County Grand Jury before then.

Moulchin had been in custody at University Medical Center until Sept. 16 until being transferred to the jail on charges she was responsible for the death of 39-year-old Craig Schofield in the 4 a.m. collision.

If convicted of felony drunken driving, Moulchin would not be eligible for probation and would face a maximum prison sentence of 20 years.

A person is considered to be driving drunk when the blood-alcohol level is over 0.10 percent. The charge is elevated to a felony if a collision involves serious injury or death or if there is a third DUI conviction within seven years.

Booker said that Moulchin had been arrested for a DUI in 1985.

In the current case, Moulchin is alleged to have driven her van down the wrong freeway ramp at Decatur Boulevard and into oncoming traffic in U.S. 95.

The van slammed head-on into Schofield's Mercedes 900, instantly killing the Sahara casino floor manager. Both vehicles were destroyed.

Another motorist who narrowly avoided the collision was able to pull Moulchin from her mangled van, which burst into flames near the freeway's center divider. The incident tied up traffic on the busy freeway for hours.

Moulchin suffered a spinal fracture, a broken jaw and serious injury to one foot.

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