Friday, Aug. 19, 2005 | 9:03 a.m.
A 27-year-old truck driver will stand trial in the hit-and-run death of an off-duty Metro Police officer, Las Vegas Justice of the Peace Nancy Oesterle ruled Thursday.
Michael Reich is scheduled for arraignment before District Judge John McGroarty on Aug. 26 for one count each of assault with use of a deadly weapon, reckless driving and leaving the scene of an accident for the July 20 collision with Officer Don Albietz along State Route 159.
Abietz died on July 28 at University Medical Center, where he had been since he was hit while bicycling in Red Rock Canyon.
Lyle Segal testified during Thursday's preliminary hearing that he was driving himself and two co-workers to work at roughly 6 a.m. on July 20, going between 60 and 70 mph when he pulled behind a white tractor-trailer.
Segal said he also saw a bicyclist on the shoulder of the road and he changed to the left lane of the two-lane road to allow the bicyclist to ride safely.
Later in the preliminary hearing, a Nevada Highway Patrol trooper testified that there is no bicycle lane on that stretch of road.
Segal said the truck also seemed to be changing lanes, but after making it partially in the left lane the truck "moved back to the right, off the shoulder and hit the bicyclist."
"I saw him fly through the air rolling," Segal said. "He bounced a couple of times about three feet off the ground."
Segal said he slammed on the brakes and quickly headed over to the bicyclist.
"I thought being hit like that he would have died right away, but he was holding on," Segal said.
When he got to the bicyclist, Segal said, he didn't get an immediate response, but when the bicyclist came to, Albeitz repeated three times, "The race is over."
Segal said the man complained of back pain and he told Segal his name was Don.
Segal's co-worker, Joseph Foppiano, ran to the truck that had hit Albietz because neither Segal, himself nor the third passenger, Michael Sterling, had cell phone service. They thought the truck would have a long range radio that could be used to notify paramedics.
Foppiano said as he ran to the truck, a man he would later know to be Reich jumped out of the truck, but when he heard Foppiano ask him to get on the radio because a man was injured, "he got back in the truck and got it back moving before the door was shut."
Foppiano said he didn't have a pen and turned to Sterling and told him to chase after the truck and get the license plate number.
Sterling said he drove "triple digits to catch up with him and was still doing 90 mph when I caught up with him."
Sterling said he wrote the license plate number down, but decided against trying to force Reich to pull over because "it looked like he was trying to run me off the road."
He said he stopped at a visitor center and called the police.
James Hayley, a state Public Safety Department detective, said that in an interview with Reich three days after the incident Reich told him "he had in fact been driving the vehicle" that hit Albeitz.
Hayley said Reich told him he had worked a long day and was driving back to Las Vegas from Pahrump when he thinks he "fell asleep momentarily and woke up to see two burros." Reich said the sight caused him to swerve and hit something, according to Hayley.
Hayley said Reich told him he pulled over, but when he was told to call 911 because someone had been hurt he "got back in the vehicle and drove away."
The detective said Reich said he "panicked" and first dropped off the trailer before driving the truck home.
Nevada Highway Patrol later found the truck in a driveway on Napoli Road in Las Vegas, which would ultimately lead them to Reich.
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