Man facing multiple charges in connection with fatal crash
A man drove on the wrong side of the road when he crashed into a parked SUV, killing the person inside, police said in an arrest report.
Prentiss Bates, 50, was charged with vehicular homicide, DUI, and reckless driving. On Thursday, Bates was driving north on North Rancho Drive, north of Torrey Pines Drive at “an extremely high rate of speed,” when he drove over a raised center median and into southbound lanes, according to a Metropolitan Police Department arrest report.
Bates’ Jeep Cherokee struck the front of a parked Chevrolet Avalanche. Demarr Sims, 40, of Las Vegas, was inside the Chevrolet in the front passenger seat and later died at University Medical Center, according to the report.
Sims was a working as a construction flagger near the crash location, Sims was employed by RoadSafe Traffic Systems. Construction workers had left the scene, but Sims stayed behind to wait for the completed work to be inspected. He waited in the Chevrolet that was surrounded by large orange cones, according to the report.
The Chevrolet was pushed into northbound lanes after being struck.
Police who responded to the crash saw Bates in his Jeep, “nodding his head to music playing on the Jeep’s radio system.” Bates smelled of alcohol and told police he used marijuana and had a can of beer before the crash, according to the report.
He failed field sobriety tests and was booked into custody after having his blood drawn at UMC.
Bates had been convicted three previous times for DUI, one resulting in the death of Jim Edd Burchette, 58, of Las Vegas, in 2012.
He was out on bail for an alleged DUI that occurred in June when he crashed into Sims’ Chevrolet on Thursday.
Bates remains in custody without bail and is due in court on Oct. 11.
Contact David Wilson at dwilson@reviewjournal.com. Follow @davidwilson_RJ on Twitter.