Mother, daughter die when hit by car chased by police

Heather Rawlyk

Wednesday, Nov. 3, 2004 | 10:43 a.m.

A mother and her teenage daughter were killed Tuesday night when the driver of a stolen car ran a red light while being chased by police and collided with the woman's car at a northeast Las Vegas intersection, Metro Police said.

A black 1998 Cadillac DeVille had been reported stolen from Rainbow Boulevard at Washington Avenue, according to Metro Police Sgt. Frank Weigand, and an officer spotted the car near Lorenzi Park, 3333 W. Washington Ave. just after 10 p.m.

The officer tried to pull the car over using lights and sirens, but the driver kept going at about 60 mph, Weigand said.

Officers followed the Cadillac for less than half a mile west on Bonanza Road until they approached a red traffic light at Valley View Boulevard and realized that the driver was not going to stop, Weigand said.

The officers backed off, hoping that 24-year-old Vernon Morrison, the driver of the Cadillac, would stop, but he drove through the intersection at about 60 mph and collided with a Ford Escort driving north on Valley View Boulevard, police said.

A 14-year-old girl riding in the Ford was pronounced dead at the scene and the 42-year-old woman who was driving was taken to University Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead shortly after she arrived, police said.

Their names were not released this morning.

The impact caused the Cadillac to careen through a stone wall, onto the lawn and through part of a double window of a home at the corner of the intersection, police said.

Luckily, no one was home, Weigand said. Morrison suffered minor injuries and was arrested on charges of felony reckless driving involving death, felony evading and felony possession of a stolen vehicle, he said.

Police believe Morrison was under the influence of narcotics, and the driver's blood was drawn by police for testing, Weigand said.

Results will be released in about two weeks, and if they are positive, Morrison will be charged with felony DUI with death.

"Someone running from police just blew through that light and caused two people to die," Weigand said. "There's just no excuse for it."

He said these were the 116th and 117th traffic deaths this year in Las Vegas and unincorporated Clark County.