Suspect in Vegas car-ramming to face murder charge

Las Vegas car-ramming suspect Lakeisha Holloway is shown in a booking photo released by the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department on Monday. PHOTO: AFP

LAS VEGAS (AFP) - A 24-year-old woman who repeatedly rammed her car into pedestrians on the packed Las Vegas Strip, killing one person and injuring more than 30, will be charged with murder, officials said Monday.

Clark County District Attorney Steven Wolfson told reporters that additional charges would also be filed against Lakeisha Holloway, who had her three-year-old daughter in the car at the time of the incident Sunday night.

Las Vegas Sheriff Joe Lombardo said it appears Holloway was in conflict with her daughter's father and had been living in her car for the past week.

He said she may have been passing through Las Vegas on her way to join the child's father in Texas.

After plowing into the crowd on the sidewalk, she drove to a nearby hotel and went up to a valet parking attendant asking him to call the emergency services.

"She didn't appear to be distressed due to her actions," Lombardo said.

He added that Holloway did not appear to be under the influence of alcohol, but a drug expert said she was "under some sort of stimulant." He said authorities had ruled out an act of terrorism for the time being while they check Holloway's background.

Of the more than 30 injured, three are in critical condition, suffering from head injuries, Lombardo said.

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