News briefs for March 31, 2005

Thursday, March 31, 2005 | 9:44 a.m.

Suit filed in bus stop death

The mother of a 16-year-old boy who was among four people struck and killed by a vehicle at a bus stop has filed a lawsuit alleging wrongful death and negligence against the driver, Veronica Schmidt.

Michelle Williams Price, whose son Reggie Williams died in the March 14 crash, also named the Regional Transportation Commission, Citizens Area Transit and Clark County as defendants in the lawsuit filed in District Court on Wednesday. The lawsuit also indicates that the doctor who prescribed medication that Schmidt had been taking will be added as a co-defendant.

Schmidt faces no criminal charges from the crash. Metro Police and prosecutors said there was no evidence to support felony charges in connection with the crash two weeks ago at Smoke Ranch Road at Rock Springs Drive.

Plea deal made in baby's death

The Henderson father who originally faced murder charges for violently shaking his 4-month-old son, inflicting severe brain injuries that killed the baby 11 days later, is avoiding the possibility of spending his life in prison by entering a plea agreement with prosecutors.

John C. Schutts, 30, is expected to plead guilty to second-degree murder as part of plea agreement reached with prosecutors on Wednesday.

Schutts waived his preliminary hearing on Wednesday and is scheduled for arraignment in District Court on April 14. He is changed in connection with the death of his son Matthew, who suffered brain injuries after allegedly being shaken Feb. 13. The boy died Feb. 24.

Under the terms of the plea bargain Schutts is expected to serve 10 to 20 years in prison. If he had gone to trial and been convicted of first-degree murder he faced the possibility of a life sentence.

Dirt dropped on freeway

An unidentified vehicle dropped a load of dirt and sand on Interstate 215 near the Pecos Road exit on Wednesday at 4:30 p.m., stopping westbound traffic for more than three hours as crews cleaned up the spill.

No witnesses came forward with information about the spill, and authorities were unable to locate the motorist responsible for the mess, said Trooper Loy Hixson, spokesman for the Nevada Highway Patrol.

The dirt reached 600 feet in length and covered two out of three lanes on I-215 but did not cause any injuries or accidents, Hixson said.

Hixson said the sand looked like it was from an excavation site.

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