UNITED STATES NEWS

Trial delayed for driver held since 2015 in deadly Las Vegas Strip pedestrian crash

May 18, 2023, 5:00 PM | Updated: 5:08 pm

 

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Trial was delayed Thursday for a woman who has been in custody in state psychiatric facilities for more than seven years after being accused of intentionally plowing a car into pedestrians on a Las Vegas Strip sidewalk in December 2015.

Paris Paradise Morton, who rejected a plea bargain this week that would avoid trial, told Clark County District Court Judge Tierra Jones she wants a different court-appointed attorney to represent her on murder and 70 other felony charges. The crash killed an Arizona woman and injured dozens of other people near the Paris Las Vegas and Planet Hollywood resorts.

The judge called off a trial that had been scheduled to begin May 30 and set a closed-door hearing with Morton next Wednesday to determine if she will get a new lawyer. No new trial date was set.

Morton, now 32, has been prosecuted as Lakeisha Nicole Holloway, the name she gave to authorities following the crash a few days before Christmas 2015. Records show she legally changed her name before the crash from Holloway to Morton.

Jessica Valenzuela, 32, a tourist from Buckeye, Arizona, was killed and authorities said at least 35 people from several states, Mexico and Canada were injured.

Clark County and Las Vegas have in recent years installed rows of vehicle barriers called bollards along Las Vegas Boulevard and other sidewalk curbs with large pedestrian crowds to prevent similar crashes.

Morton’s daughter, who was 3 years old at the time, was with her in the car during the crash, after which Morton drove to a casino-hotel off the Strip and asked employees to call police. Morton’s court-appointed defense attorney, Scott Coffee, has said she no longer has custody of the child.

Coffee has said his client was from Portland, Oregon, and traveled through several cities in the U.S. and Canada before arriving in Las Vegas a few days before the crash.

Morton told investigators she and her daughter had been living in the car and sleeping in casino parking areas until being told by security officers to leave. Authorities said she may have been on her way to Texas to see the girl’s father at the time of the crash.

 

United States News

Associated Press

New Jersey house explosion hospitalizes 5 people, police say

WEST MILFORD, N.J. (AP) — Five people were transported to hospitals after an explosion at a New Jersey home on Friday night, police said. The house in West Milford was heavily damaged by the explosion around 9 p.m., the West Milford Police Department said in a statement. A sixth person at the scene refused additional […]

1 hour ago

Associated Press

Tropical Storm Ophelia close to landfall on the North Carolina coast, weather agency says

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — Tropical Storm Ophelia was nearing landfall on the North Carolina coast early Saturday with the potential for damaging winds and dangerous surges of water, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said. Ophelia was about 25 miles (45 kilometers) southwest of Cape Lookout and about 70 miles (110 kilometers) east-northeast of Cape Fear. […]

5 hours ago

This Aug. 17, 2021 photo shows Quagga mussels cover the engine of a Bell P-39 Airacobra military pl...

Associated Press

Historians race to find Great Lakes shipwrecks before quagga mussels destroy the sites

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The Great Lakes’ frigid fresh water used to keep shipwrecks so well preserved that divers could see dishes in the cupboards. Downed planes that spent decades underwater were left so pristine they could practically fly again when archaeologists finally discovered them. Now, an invasive mussel is destroying shipwrecks deep in the […]

6 hours ago

This image provided by Tulane University shows Nick Spitzer, host of the weekly public radio music ...

Associated Press

Louisiana folklorist and Mississippi blues musician among 2023 National Heritage Fellows

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Louisiana folklorist Nick Spitzer and Mississippi blues musician R.L. Boyce are among nine 2023 National Heritage Fellows set to be celebrated later this month by the National Endowment for the Arts, one of the nation’s highest honors in the folk and traditional arts. Spitzer and Boyce are scheduled to accept the […]

6 hours ago

Republican presidential candidates, from left, former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, former New Jers...

Associated Press

3rd Republican presidential debate is set for Nov. 8 in Miami, with the strictest qualifications yet

The third Republican presidential debate will be held in Miami on Nov. 8, a day after several states hold off-year elections.

8 hours ago

During the equinox, the Earth’s axis and its orbit line up so that both hemispheres get an equal ...

Associated Press

The fall equinox is here. What does that mean?

The equinox arrives on Saturday, marking the start of the fall season for the Northern Hemisphere. But what does that actually mean?

9 hours ago

Sponsored Articles

Home moving relocation in Arizona 2023...

BMS Moving

Tips for making your move in Arizona easier

If you're moving to a new home in Arizona, use this to-do list to alleviate some stress and ensure a smoother transition to your new home.

...

Ability360

At Ability360, every day is Independence Day

With 100 different programs and services, more than 1,500 non-medically based home care staff, a world-renowned Sports & Fitness Center and over 15,000 people with disabilities served annually, across all ages and demographics, Ability360 is a nationwide leader in the disability community.

...

OCD & Anxiety Treatment Center

5 mental health myths you didn’t know were made up

Helping individuals understand mental health diagnoses like obsessive compulsive spectrum disorder or generalized anxiety disorder isn’t always an easy undertaking. After all, our society tends to spread misconceptions about mental health like wildfire. This is why being mindful about how we talk about mental health is so important. We can either perpetuate misinformation about already […]

Trial delayed for driver held since 2015 in deadly Las Vegas Strip pedestrian crash