Second person in Strip crash dies

Mary Manning and Matt Pordum

Friday, Sept. 23, 2005 | 11:04 a.m.

A second man who was among the Strip sidewalk crowd run over by a car on Wednesday has died, and prosecutors may seek the death penalty in this case.

Police arrested 27-year-old Stephen Ressa of Rialto, Calif. Wednesday after the Buick he was driving jumped the curb on the Strip in front of Bally's and ran through a crowd of people.

Chief Deputy District Attorney David Schwartz said today Ressa will be charged with two counts of murder with use of a deadly weapon, 12 counts of attempted murder with use of a deadly weapon, 12 counts of battery with a deadly weapon causing substantial bodily harm and one count of possession of a stolen vehicle.

He said the charges should be filed against Ressa before Las Vegas Justice of the Peace Karen Bennett-Haron on Monday morning.

Schwartz said driving while under the influence charges could also be filed, but he is still waiting on the results of Ressa's blood work.

When asked if the district attorney's office will consider the death penalty for Ressa the prosecutor said "sure, everything is on the table in this case."

The second victim, Mark Modaressi, 26, of Irvine, Calif., was pronounced dead at 11:05 a.m. Thursday, Glenda McCartney, a spokeswoman for Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center, said.

His family decided to donate his organs, McCartney confirmed Thursday night.

Shortly after 6 p.m., 52-year-old Gordon Kusayanagi of Hollister, Calif., was the first person to die. The collision happened at 5:20 p.m.

Ressa, who has a criminal record for DUI and marijuana possession, allegedly stole the Buick from his 50-year-old mother after beating her unconscious and threatening her with a knife on Monday.

Ressa had been sentenced to nine months in jail by a San Bernardino County judge in August but was being allowed to serve his sentence on weekends, according to court records.

He had been arrested in May when Fontana police allegedly found nearly 2 pounds of marijuana in his hotel room. He pleaded guilty to possession of marijuana with the intent to sell, according to court records.

Ressa also had been convicted of being under in the influence of drugs in 2000 and of drunken driving in San Bernardino County in 1998, according to court records.

Ressa had been a star baseball player for Rialto High School and played college ball in California as well.

A man who answered the phone at the Ressa home in Rialto Thursday night identified himself as Stephen Ressa's brother and began crying on the phone. He said his family is devastated.

"On behalf of our family, we would like to apologize and offer our prayers and condolences to the victims and their families," he said.

Of the 13 people who were hospitalized as a result of the incident, two women were treated and released Wednesday night from Sunrise, McCartney said. Two other women, ages 43 and 18, remained in serious condition, she said.

At University Medical Center, a 60-year-old man's condition was upgraded to serious from critical condition, UMC spokeswoman Cheryl Persinger said.

A 30-year-old man was listed in good condition, a 25-year-old woman was in good condition, a 25-year-old man had been treated and released, a 28-year-old woman had been treated and released, a 26-year-old woman had been treated and released and a 26-year-old woman had been upgraded from critical to fair, while a 29-year-old man, who arrived at the hospital on his own, was treated and released, Persinger said.