Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

Brother converts grief over sister’s death into impassioned safe-driving crusade

UNLV Rebel Girl Lindsay Bennett was killed by drunk driver in 2009

Andrew Bennett

Steve Marcus

Andrew Bennett, public information officer for Nevada’s Office of Traffic Safety, poses in the Las Vegas Sun studio Thursday, June 6, 2019. Bennett’s sister Lindsay Bennett, a UNLV Rebel Girl, was killed by a drunk driver in 2009.

Remembering Lindsay Bennett (4-23-2010)

Rebel Girl Lindsay Bennett, right, dances with her team during a UNLV men's basketball game at the  Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Saturday, Feb. 14, 2009. Launch slideshow »

Lindsay Bennett Memorial Blood Drive

Rebel Girl Jada Pittman signs in during the 10th Annual Lindsay Bennett Memorial Blood Drive at UNLV Saturday, June 22, 2019. Lindsay Bennett, a UNLV Rebel Girl, was killed by a drunk driver in 2009. Launch slideshow »

Growing up, Andrew Bennett wanted to be a chef.

Born and raised in the rich culinary scene of Las Vegas, the driven young man always envisioned himself in a career where he could put “passion on a plate.”

But on April 15, 2009, the then-15-year-old’s family suffered a tragedy that would dramatically alter his life trajectory.

On that somber evening, Vladimir Lagerev got loaded with booze, took the wheel and drove the wrong way on the 215 Beltway until he hit Andrew’s big sister head on as she made her way home from practice as a UNLV Rebel Girl.

Lindsay Bennett, 18, died two days later. The architecture major, Andrew’s mentor and beloved only sibling, would have celebrated her birthday three days after that. Lagerev remains imprisoned.

Andrew Bennett vividly recalls the hours before the crash, how Lindsay had picked him up from school and helped him study for a test; how he wished his last words to her before she left for practice — “see you later” — would have been less nonchalant and more meaningful.

The crash aftermath evokes memories of worse trauma, like his mom’s scream when Nevada Highway Patrol troopers showed up to deliver the bad news.

On the way to the hospital, mother and son had to drive past the grim scene. There, they saw the crumpled white car, illuminated by floodlights and red and blue beacons. It was the first time he felt totally hopeless — “the pure destruction of what a car should look like compared to what that car looked like,” Bennett said.

Bennett, now a traffic safety spokesman for Nevada, instinctively knew that life would be different going forward.

“He had to grow up really fast,” a tearful Jan Bennett said of her son, Andrew. “He had to be more responsible and handle things that no 15-year-old should have to handle.”

Andrew served as an anchor for the family, helping everyone cope amid the overwhelming grief. “He kind of took care of us,” she continued.

With that mantle of responsibility, Bennett began to consider how he could use his pain to help others.

Months after his sister’s death, he gave a speech to high schoolers, warning about the very real dangers and consequences of driving under the influence. At first, he could barely speak without breaking down.

That new path eventually led him to the Nevada Office of Traffic Safety, where he serves as the public information officer and project manager for the Zero Fatalities program. He also helped spearhead the DUI Strike Team — a collaboration between NHP and Metro Police that has put more than 700 suspects behind bars since October.

There’s also another number he tracks: the roughly 5,900 lives lost in crashes in Nevada since Lindsay died. He estimates the 6,000th victim will be tallied before summer ends.

Click to enlarge photo

Andrew Bennett, public information officer for Nevada's Office of Traffic Safety, donates blood with Vitalant phlebotomist Shae Stanley during the 10th Annual Lindsay Bennett Memorial Blood Drive at UNLV Saturday, June 22, 2019. Bennett's sister Lindsay Bennett, a UNLV Rebel Girl, was killed by a drunk driver in 2009.

Viewers who catch Bennett on TV news might notice a well-groomed, towering figure in a suit, but it’s his sense of urgency about obeying the rules of the road, delivered in a deep, powerful voice, that helps his message resonate so profoundly.

“The opportunity to prevent another family from receiving that knock on the door is the greatest motivator I can think of,” Bennett said. “The idea that I have the opportunity to go into work every day to prevent the loss of life on our roadways is not just my job but a legacy for my sister.”

The nature of Bennett’s work is a consistent reminder of Lindsay and her life cut short. He thinks she would have wanted to design structures that would have had a lasting impact. In a paper she wrote at UNLV, she mentioned life’s pleasures like cooking her dad pancakes and voting in her first presidential election.

Bennett appreciates that she is not forgotten, especially at UNLV, where the Rebel Girls recently held the 10th annual Lindsay Bennett Memorial Blood Drive. He was first in line to donate, later saying he’s amazed how the team keeps the tradition even though current dancers didn’t personally know her. One of Lindsay’s teammates is now an assistant coach.

Bennett has not lost sight of his goal of becoming a chef — the wood-fired pizza oven he got in December attests to his enduring zeal for the kitchen — but for now working in public service is a higher calling.

“If I just save one life, my time in traffic safety will have been worth it,” he said.

His mother is grateful that he carries the family torch in honoring his sister, acknowledging that he “takes a lot of pride in his job and is not boastful.”

Bennett admits the job can consume him. Whether it means waking up in the middle of the night to check the DUI Strike Team’s progress or whether it’s auto printing of fatal crash reports that sometimes await him when he gets to the office. He’s granted more than 150 media interviews this year.

Some days, the mission feels futile, Bennett said. Like the time last year when an 8-year-old boy on the way to school was killed by a reckless and impaired driver. Then there was a day this year when a teenage motorcyclist on his way to help a friend with homework was killed in a crash. The victim was days from graduating high school and had just picked up his cap and gown.

Bennett only asks for steady progress — the Strike Team certainly contributes to that. But there’s a long way to go before the “zero fatalities” goal is met in the state. Perhaps it’ll happen after his lifetime, he said. In the meantime, zero people died on Southern Nevada roadways during Memorial Day, which was promising.