Published Wednesday, March 10, 2021 | 6 p.m.
Updated Wednesday, March 10, 2021 | 8:40 p.m.
Not long after their colleague was killed by a hit-and-run motorist, Las Vegas-area tow-truck drivers stationed their rigs around University Medical Center, illuminating the night with yellow beacons in a sign of fraternity.
The show of support in which dozens of rigs surrounded the hospital premises was recorded by the Clark County Fire Department and posted on the county's Twitter account.
The victim — who was working on a shoulder of the 215 Beltway Tuesday night when a small van hit him — was Ryan Matthew Billotte, 48, the Clark County Coroner’s Office said Wednesday.
Meanwhile, a female suspect was arrested Wednesday, Nevada Highway Patrol Trooper Travis Smaka said. Her identity, as well as what charges she’s facing, will be disclosed after the booking process, he said late Wednesday.
Earlier in the day, the patrol had said they were looking for a white Ford Econoline minivan.
North Las Vegas-based Quality Towing identified Billotte as one of its employees.
“It’s a tremendous loss for all of us here,” said Tom Tedford, senior vice president for Quality Towing’s parent company.
Billotte “was just doing his job,” said Tedford, noting that the company was offering a $5,000 reward for information that leads to the arrest of the perpetrator. “Hopefully, we can find the suspect and give his family some sense of this senseless death.”
The towing business is “fiercely competitive,” Tedford said. “But when something tragic like this happens, and it’s one of their own, they come together,” he said, adding his appreciation for all the messages Quality Towing has received from across the country.
“Unfortunately, an incident like this is not uncommon,” Tedford said.
The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health in 2019 published a report that tallied 191 deaths during a five-year period ending in 2016. “Motor vehicle incidents,” most involving drivers being hit on the side of the road, were the main cause of death, according to the federal agency.
With 43 deaths per 100,000 workers, the towing industry is 15 times more dangerous for its workers than it is for all U.S. “private industries combined,” the report said.
Nevada’s “move over law,” which aims to protect emergency-vehicle operators, states that drivers should slow down and switch lanes when encountered, if possible.
Nevada’s “Zero Fatalities” initiative noted that Billotte’s death was the third involving hit-and-run drivers in Southern Nevada in four days.
“This is a clear display of lack of accountability, responsibility, and respect for life for a vital partner in public safety,” Zero Fatalities posted on Twitter.
