Nevada Highway Patrol troopers look over a Honda sedan after a fatal accident at Durango Drive and Farm Road Thursday, Feb. 9, 2017.
Friday, Feb. 10, 2017 | 6:05 p.m.
David Fensch
A driver suspected of impairment in a northwest valley rear-end crash that killed a 16-year-old boy Thursday morning has at least five previous DUI offenses, including four convictions, according to an arrest report and local court records.
One of those arrests — the most recent since this week — occurred in Las Vegas in late 2011, court records show.
David Fensch, 47, who after the crash told investigators he didn’t remember what happened, was booked without bail at the Clark County Detention Center on one count of vehicular homicide, according to Nevada Highway Patrol. He slurred his speech and couldn’t keep his eyes open when being treated for minor injuries at the hospital.
Jaelan Fajardo was stopped at a light about 6:30 a.m. at the Durango Drive and Farm Road intersection when Fensch’s Chevrolet Trailblazer slammed into his Honda Civic at a “high rate of speed,” officials said. He died at University Medical Center.
After the crash, Fensch pulled into a convenience store parking lot where he encountered police officers and told them he’d been drinking and that he takes Xanax, the report said. He further said he was on his way home from a Strip casino.
In an interview with NHP investigators at UMC about an hour after the crash, Fensch said he didn’t remember it and that he was on his way back from the casino where he was relaxing, according to the report.
Using slurred speech, Fensch said he’d only had four rum drinks, his last being more than 10 hours before the crash, the report said. At the hospital, he exhibited droopy eyelids and disorientation.
He passed a preliminary breath test with a .017 blood-alcohol level but showed clues of impairment with a field sobriety test, the report said. Before Fensch was placed in handcuffs, investigators drew blood for further testing.
Fensch, who doesn't have a valid driver's license but did present a Michigan identification card, has a history of driving under the influence that dates back about 15 years, which includes 2002, 2003 and 2008 convictions, according to NHP. He was again arrested on suspicion of felony DUI in 2009, but investigators could not determine the status of that case.
Fensch was arrested by Metro Police in 2011 and booked on a count of DUI felony with priors, according to an arrest report obtained Friday. The Metro officer also wrote about four previous convictions in Michigan, but there were discrepancies between the officer's and the trooper's dates.
During his 2011 arrest, a Metro officer observed Fensch weaving in and out from a highway lane and off road, police said. He exited the freeway and pulled into a fast-food restaurant lot not far from Thursday's crash.
The officer unsuccessfully tried to pull Fensch over, but he continued to drive up a parking lot island, almost getting stuck, the report said. Eventually, Fensch pulled over and wobbled out of his SUV.
When asked what he had to drink, Fensch said five drinks, the report said. When asked what kind, Fensch, who slurred his speech and had bloodshot eyes, replied, "a little bit of everything."
After that arrest and just over two years later, Fensch pleaded guilty to a lesser charge, court records show. That was after he successfully completed and graduated from a court-mandated DUI program, records show.
The harsher vehicular homicide charge applies to someone with previous DUI convictions, according to state law. Fensch is next scheduled to appear in court on Monday.
