Teen facing 6 felonies in Vegas restaurant crash
Apr 11, 2013, 11:57 PM
LAS VEGAS (AP) – A teenager accused of plowing a speeding car into a crowded Las Vegas restaurant is being charged with six felonies, including four counts of driving under the influence of drugs that could get him a total of 80 years in prison.
Prosecutors said Thursday that 18-year-old Gage James Lindsey had Xanax and more than three times the legal limit of marijuana in his blood in the April 1 crash at the Egg & I restaurant on Sahara Avenue.
He’s also charged with reckless driving and leaving the scene before witnesses tackled him and held him for police.
At a hearing Thursday, Lindsey stood in handcuffs and stared straight at a judge who refused to reduce his $500,000 bail. She scheduled an evidence hearing for Aug. 22.
Lindsey’s lawyer, Sean Sullivan, calls the wreck a tragic accident.
Police say the teen’s 1993 Lexus sedan entered a turn lane, jumped a median, and landed in oncoming traffic. It was hit by a Mitsubishi sedan and a Ford pickup truck before crashing into the eatery.
Rescuers pulled several people out from underneath the car, which ended up balancing on a patio chair.
The crash seriously hurt 10 people, though none of the injuries were life-threatening.
One victim had a collapsed lung and fractures in his spine, arm and shoulders, while several others had broken bones, according to the police report.
One patron who was dining with her sisters when the crash happened said the motor was still revving when the car came to rest.
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