Wrong-way driver faces counts of attempted murder, third DUI
A wrong-way driver remained jailed this week after authorities said he purposely hit two vehicles in the west valley and tried to run over a husband and wife who were riding bicycles, according to his arrest report.
Daniel Glen Asseff, 51, was booked into the Clark County Detention Center on charges of attempted murder, battery with a deadly weapon and DUI, his third, records showed.
Asseff remained jailed on a $500,000 bail, and is awaiting a competency hearing slated for Feb. 25, according to Las Vegas Justice Court records.
Police responded to reports of a bronze station wagon driving the wrong way at Fort Apache Road, near Sahara Avenue on Friday afternoon.
Following a police pursuit, Asseff was taken into custody near the 215 Beltway and Desert Inn Drive, police said.
Asseff, who police said struggled to walk and slurred his words, told detectives that he had consumed heroin and methamphetamine three weeks prior to his arrest.
Police said Asseff was driving against oncoming traffic near the Beltway and Town Center Drive when he crashed into an occupied minivan that was stopped, and accelerated his station wagon after impact, creating “a large cloud of white smoke.”
Asseff then slammed into another occupied vehicle, revving the engine and pushing the vehicle about 50 feet into oncoming traffic, police said.
The cyclists were riding near the Beltway and Charleston Boulevard when Asseff aimed “directly” at them into the sidewalk, narrowly missing the man, police said.
The man said he yelled at his wife “watch out, this guy is a psycho,” before Asseff put the car in reverse, and then “sped” toward the woman, who was able to “get out of the way,” police said.
Las Vegas Justice Court records show that Asseff faced a second DUI case in August 2020, but prosecutors declined to pursue charges.
Contact Ricardo Torres-Cortez at rtorres@reviewjournal.com. Follow @rickytwrites on Twitter.
