Woman gets 24 years in DUI deaths

Kim Smith

Monday, July 10, 2000 | 9:38 a.m.

A Las Vegas woman was sentenced Friday to five to 24 years in prison in a drunken-driving accident that took the lives of a young couple.

District Judge Donald Mosley also ordered Nancy O'Heron, 33, to pay $20,500 in restitution and $4,000 in fines in connection with the November 1998 deaths of Shane Bates, 24, and Amber Bates, 23.

Mosley, who followed the recommendation of the Clark County Parole and Probation Department, announced his decision after hearing the emotional testimony of half a dozen of the Bates' relatives.

According to police, O'Heron was driving north on Durango Drive in the southbound lane when her car, traveling more than 65 mph, struck a motorcycle ridden by the couple. The motorcycle then crashed into the side of a Citizens Area Transit bus.

Chief Deputy District Attorney Gary Booker said O'Heron's blood-alcohol level was 0.24, more than twice the legal limit.

O'Heron pleaded guilty in April to two counts of driving under the influence of an intoxicating liquor, causing death.

The couple's daughter, who was 2 months old at the time of the crash, is being cared for by her grandmothers, and Amber Bates' 5-year-old son is now living with his father.