Las Vegas Sun

April 23, 2024

Trial off again in deadly 2015 Vegas Strip sidewalk crash

Lakeisha Holloway Makes Initial Appearance

Steve Marcus

Lakeisha Nicole Holloway, 24, of Oregon enters the courtroom Wednesday, Dec. 23, 2015, for her initial appearance at Regional Justice Center. Holloway faces charges in a crash that killed one pedestrian and injured 35 others on the Strip on Dec. 20.

Trial has been postponed indefinitely while a woman accused of intentionally killing and injuring Las Vegas Strip sidewalk pedestrians with a car in December 2015 heads back to a Nevada state mental facility.

Lakeisha Holloway’s court-appointed defense attorney, Scott Coffee, said Thursday it would be unfair and a violation of due process to force Holloway to trial amid concerns about her competency and ability to understand charges against her.

Holloway, now 29, was from Portland, Ore. She has been in custody since shortly after the crash that killed an Arizona woman and injured at least 34 other people near the Paris Las Vegas and Planet Hollywood resorts. She has pleaded not guilty to murder and 70 other felony charges.

Trial had been scheduled to begin this week, but a state court judge in Las Vegas issued an order March 24 canceling proceedings pending a doctor’s finding that Holloway is competent.

Holloway had her 3-year-old daughter with her, and told police they had been living in the car in Las Vegas for about a week. She was previously found competent for trial in February 2017.

Officials have in recent years installed vehicle barrier bollards along Las Vegas Boulevard sidewalk curbs to prevent similar crashes.