Highway patrol sergeant involved in fatal crash resigns

By Mary Manning

Friday, July 25, 2008 | 4:25 p.m.

A Nevada Highway Patrol sergeant accused of smoking marijuana before crashing his vehicle while off-duty, killing one person and injuring two, has resigned, the Nevada Department of Public Safety said today.

The sergeant, 46-year-old Edward Lattin, had worked 22 years with the Nevada Highway Patrol, Public Safety spokesman Dan Burns said. "He was facing two internal investigations and resigned," Burns said.

Lattin investigated fatal accidents for the Nevada Highway Patrol for the past 17 years. The resignation is effective immediately.

Lattin could face a grand jury.

Prosecutors claim Lattin had enough marijuana in his system to impair his driving at the time of the crash, which occurred June 11 on Rainbow Boulevard near Tropicana Avenue.

Yung Warren, 49, was killed in the crash. Lattin voluntarily submitted to a blood test that showed he had exceeded the legal limit, even if the former trooper had ingested marijuana second-hand. Tests showed that 5.6 nanograms per milliliter of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) was present in his blood before it was metabolized. After the substance metabolized, the level was 26 nanograms per milliliter.

Lattin was arrested last week on one felony count of driving under the influence resulting in death. His bail was $50,000.

Justice of the Peace Abbi Silver scheduled a preliminary hearing for Oct. 15.