Third person in Strip sidewalk crash dies

David Kihara

Wednesday, Sept. 28, 2005 | 10:04 a.m.

A 60-year-old man who was hit last week by a car driving on a Strip sidewalk died this morning at UMC, bringing the total number killed in that incident to three, Metro Police reported.

Richard Bradford of Renton, Wash., died at 1:45 a.m., the Clark County coroner's office reported. Bradford was at UMC since Sept. 21, when he was struck by a vehicle on the sidewalk in front of Bally's. The coroner has not yet determined the exact cause of death.

Police have arrested Stephen Ressa, 27, of Rialto, Calif., charging him with driving onto the crowded sidewalk and hitting 14 people.

Ressa told police after he was arrested that he intentionally drove into the people because he was angry with them and believed they were armed, according to a Metro arrest report.

He told police that the people standing in front of him looked like "demons" and that people were always "out to get him," according to the report.

The Clark County district attorney's office charged Ressa with two counts of murder, 12 counts of attempted murder with use of a deadly weapon and 12 counts of battery with a deadly weapon causing substantial bodily harm.

The district attorney's office will amend the charges to include another count of murder, police said.

Ressa, who was ordered to undergo a psychiatric evaluation, told police that he was prescribed a medication but stopped taking it, according to the report.

He also admitted to police that he had a drug and alcohol problem and drank some alcohol the day before the incident on the Strip, but he said he hadn't had any alcohol or drugs the day of the incident.

Ressa was wanted by authorities in California for allegedly beating his mother, putting a knife to her throat and stealing her vehicle two days before he allegedly struck the people on the strip.

His criminal history included a charge of marijuana possession with intent to sell and driving under the influence. He was serving a nine-month sentence in California at the time of his most recent arrest but was allowed to serve the sentence on the weekends.

The two other people killed in the incident were: Gordon Kusayanagi, 52, of Hollister, Calif., who died on Sept. 21 ,and Mark Modaressi 26, of Irvine Calif., who died on Thursday.