How the Las Vegas Strip Responded to its Own Vehicle-Ramming Attack

How the Las Vegas Strip Responded to its Own Vehicle-Ramming Attack.

Costfoto / NurPhoto / Getty Images

Key Takeaways

A day after the deadliest vehicle-ramming attack in the US occurred in New Orleans, it’s worth revisiting how Las Vegas responded to its own vehicle-ramming attack nine years ago.

Cement bollards, installed in response to a December 2015 vehicle-ramming attack near Planet Hollywood, can be seen lining both sides of the Las Vegas Strip in this photograph. (Image: kimley-horn.com)

On Dec. 20, 2015, a woman drove her 1996 Oldsmobile sedan onto the sidewalk near Paris Las Vegas, killing 32-year-old Arizona tourist Jessica Valenzuela and injuring 37 others.

In response, Clark County installed cement bollards along the length of the Las Vegas Strip, from the Welcome to Las Vegas Sign north to Sahara Avenue.

The 5,600 crash-rated bollards, in addition to 640 linear feet of crash-rated post and cable protection and 1,635 linear feet of concrete crash wall, were installed between 2017 and 2019, at a cost to taxpayers of more than $22 million.

According to Kimley-Horn, the North Carolina engineering consulting firm that designed the bollards, they provide “over eight total miles of pedestrian protection on this corridor.”

The bollards were strategically placed to protect the Strip’s busiest intersections. However, they do not eliminate every conceivable point where a vehicle might access the sidewalk especially in areas where driveways or other access points exist.

The SuspectLakeisha Holloway appears in her 2015 mug shot. (Image: Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department)

The alleged driver was Lakeisha Holloway, a 24-year-old Portland, Ore. resident who had been living out of her car in Las Vegas for about a week before the incident.

She told police at the time that she was “hurting and wanted others to feel pain.” Holloway’s 3-year-old daughter was in the car during the incident but was not injured.

Prosecutors have described Holloway as above Nevada s legal limit for marijuana at the time (2 nanograms per milliliter of blood for THC or 5 nanograms per milliliter of THC metabolite).

She was charged with 71 counts, including murder with use of a deadly weapon, child abuse, attempted murder, and leaving the scene of an accident. However, her case was complicated by mental health issues that kept her confined to a state psychiatric hospital.

In March 2021, she was deemed competent to stand trial. In May 2023, Holloway, representing herself and requesting a different public defender, rejected a plea bargain that would have avoided trial.

Her trial is currently scheduled to begin in March, nearly 10 years after her alleged crime.

 

 

Article Sources
Las Vegas Shooter Gets 20 Years in Prison for Paralyzing Officer Near Circus Circus editorial policy.
  1. Las Vegas Shooter Gets 20 Years in Prison for Paralyzing Officer Near Circus Circus

Compare Accounts
×
Caesars Secures $2.03 Billion from Deutsche Bank, JPMorgan for William Hill Deal
Provider
Name
Description
Carolina Panthers Look to Avenge Week 8 Loss to Atlanta Falcons on ‘Thursday Night Football’  Pennsylvania Proposes Making it Easier for Self-Excluded Casino Gamblers to Return  Is Las Vegas Tourism’s Future Boom or Bust? Experts Have Varied Viewpoints  Band KISS to Build Biloxi Casino Resort on Site of Former Margaritaville Property  Rolex Stolen at Las Vegas Hotel Found Under Suspect’s Wig  Immigrant Cancer Patient Wins $1.3B Powerball Jackpot With Wife and Friend  This Pizza & Wings Costs $653 at Allegiant VIP Box in Vegas!  Las Vegas Sands Makes $4,500 Net Profit Every Single Minute, 2017 Mass Shooting Cited for MGM Struggles  Somerville Drops Case Against Wynn Boston Harbor  Caesars Entertainment Jacks Up Resort Fees After Reporting $1.2B Loss in 2019