March 1 trial date set in DUI case

Wednesday, Oct. 7, 1998 | 11:29 a.m.

Josephine Moulchin has pleaded not guilty to charges she was drunk when she caused the head-on collision on U.S. 95 that killed a man.

District Judge John McGroarty on Tuesday set a March 1 trial date on drunken and reckless driving and involuntary manslaughter charges for the woman whose blood-alcohol level was tested at 0.24 percent after the pre-dawn incident on Aug. 25. The minimum level needed to prove drunken driving under Nevada law is 0.10 percent.

Moulchin's sport utility vehicle was traveling the wrong way on the expressway near Valley View Boulevard and narrowly missed one car before slamming head-on into a Mercedes 900 driven by 39-year-old Craig Schofield.

The Sahara casino floor manager died instantly. A motorist pulled Moulchin from her mangled vehicle moments before it burst into flames near the freeway's center divider. The incident tied up traffic on the busy freeway for hours.

Moulchin suffered a spinal fracture, a broken jaw and serious injury to one foot.

Under Nevada law, a DUI charge is elevated to a felony if a collision involves serious injury or death. Punishment is up to 20 years in prison and probation is not a possibility.