California man indicted in death of his daughter

A California construction worker has been indicted by a Clark County grand jury on felony drunken driving and involuntary manslaughter charges in a high-speed rollover accident that killed his 4-year-old daughter.

Gary Dean Dillman was ordered Wednesday to be held on $500,000 bail on the charges that resulted from the Oct. 18 crash near Jean, 30 miles south of Las Vegas.

Deputy District Attorney Gary Booker said Dillman apparently was racing back to Las Vegas at speeds estimated at more than 90 mph to return his daughter to his ex-wife.

Dillman's rental car, however, glanced off another vehicle and began rolling in the desert, ejecting Vanessa Tapia through a window. The car then rolled over the child, inflicting the fatal injuries.

Booker said that although there was a child seat in the vehicle, it apparently was not being used.

The veteran prosecutor said witnesses who stopped to help told the grand jury that Dillman picked up the girl, shook her and screamed, "Wake the - - - - up."

The witnesses testified that the girl had to be removed almost by force from the frantic father, but efforts they made to save her life failed, Booker said.

Booker said some witnesses admitted they are still traumatized by the incident.

One woman emotionally told the grand jury how she was holding Vanessa when she drew her last breath.

Booker said Dillman's blood-alcohol level was tested at 0.24 percent -- more than twice the legal limit to prove drunken driving -- and residue of cocaine also was detected.

Booker said a Nevada Highway Patrol trooper testified that he overheard Dillman telling his mother during a telephone call after his arrest, "They've got nothing on me, nobody saw me driving."

Booker said Dillman had been involved in another fatal accident when a piece of heavy equipment being operated by Dillman at a California construction site dropped an 8,000-pound pipe on a co-worker's head, killing him.

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