Bail set for man charged in fatal I-215 crash

April 15 wreck injured UNLV freshman Lindsay Bennett, who died two days later at UMC

Mona Shield Payne / Special to the Sun

Vladimir Lagerev appears in court April 22 on felony DUI charges at the Regional Justice Center. He has been charged in connection with the death of UNLV freshman Lindsay Bennett, who died two days after a head-on crash on an offramp to Interstate 215 at Windmill Lane.

By Jean Reid Norman (contact)

Monday, April 27, 2009 | 10:29 a.m.

Rebel Girl Lindsay Bennett

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Lagerev arraignment (April 22)

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Man charged with DUI in fatal head-on crash appears in court (4-22-2009)
Hundreds mourn Rebel Girl killed in I-215 crash (4-21-2009)
Driver identified in suspected DUI crash that killed UNLV student (4-21-2009)
18-year-old UNLV student killed in suspected DUI crash (4-20-09)

Rebel Girls Mourn Lindsay Bennett (4-21-2009)

The man charged with driving under the influence in the death of UNLV freshman Lindsay Bennett had a blood alcohol level of 0.20, more than twice the legal limit for driving under the influence, prosecutors said in court today.

Justice of the Peace Nancy Oesterle set bail at $250,000 for Vladimir Lagerev, 45, who has been formally charged with driving under the influence of alcohol causing death, and driving without insurance.

Lagerev had the 0.20 blood alcohol level two hours after the crash April 15 that killed Bennett, 18, a 2008 Coronado High School graduate who was majoring in architecture at UNLV, Deputy District Attorney Bruce Nelson said during the bail hearing. That is the equivalent of drinking 11 beers in one hour, Nelson said.

Police allege that Lagerev hit Bennett head-on about 9:30 p.m. while driving the wrong way on an offramp to Interstate 215 at Windmill Lane, according to an arrest report. Bennett died two days later at University Medical Center.

Stephen Stein, Lagerev’s attorney, asked for bail of $25,000, arguing that Lagerev is a citizen of the United States, has been married to a citizen for 10 years and has a 1-year-old child here. Stein said Lagerev was a famous ballet dancer in Russia who moved to the U.S. years ago to dance with the Classical Ballet of Los Angeles.

Lagerev now works as a technician for "Le Reve" at the Wynn, his attorney said.

Lagerev’s wife and several friends sat in the courthouse hallway during the hearing while about 25 friends and family members of Bennett, many wearing T-shirts with her photo on them, filled Oesterle’s courtroom.

Stein asked Oesterle for the lower bail with conditions such as intense supervision or an ankle bracelet, but Oesterle set the bail $50,000 higher than prosecutors had sought and also stipulated that Lagerev must surrender his passport and wear an ankle bracelet that detects alcohol consumption if he posts bail.

The judge set a preliminary hearing date of June 25, but noted that the district attorney’s office would try to get the case to a grand jury before that date.

Craig Marquis, an attorney representing the Bennett family, said the family had no comment on the case. Lagerev’s wife and friends also declined comment.

Discussion: 8 comments so far…

By karebear

4/27/09 at 8:33 p.m.

Suggest removal

Vladimir you consumed enough alcohol to be twice the legal limit and you killed Lindsay in the process and now you want your freedom? You are right where you belong... for a long long time. Such a tragedy. No winners here.
By LasVegas2009

4/27/09 at 8:56 p.m.

Suggest removal

That guy is safer in jail, it could be a mistake bailing out with so many people upset.
By jezzie71

4/27/09 at 9:20 p.m.

Suggest removal

I, was stupid enough to drive like he did, drunk. I was lucky, that I didn't kill anyone. I just hit a house and ruined my future. I will never be able to have a normal job again, never have good credit again, never have a normal live again. But that was my doing and no one elses. I can only hope that this man can learn from what he did and try to help others while he spends a long time in jail...which is where I would be if I had killed someone. He where he needs to be.
By ustour

4/28/09 at 6:25 p.m.

Suggest removal

Something is not right here.
Lets, get facts straight. Alcohol level 0.2. Legal level 0.8
First question to reach level 0.8 you have to have 1 beer and even that beer will take you over the limit.
If 0.2 is a mistake and level was 2.0, he had to consume max 3 beers ...
11 beers? I would like to ask reporter who wrote that article. Where did you take that number? Who gave it to you?

Now question to all of you grown up man. If you had 3 beers during an hour would you able to drive? I know it is wrong, but tell me did you do it in the past? Think when you going to answer. Driving drunk wrong, but lets be objective while we are writing about some one. Your personal opinion got nothing to do with facts. People reading those opinions. Remember, you are in the News, not Advertising business.

Also, apparently he was on some kind of medication. Could that affect the test result?
He is guilty, we know that. Lets be objective and put aside our personal opinions.
By unlv123

4/28/09 at 6:58 p.m.

Suggest removal

ustour,

You need to get your facts straight before you start calling other people out.

Yes his blood alcohol level was .20. The legal limit however is .08. That puts his blood alcohol at the time of the crash more then twice the legal limit.
Drinking

one 12oz. beer
or
one 4 oz.glass of wine
or
1oz 100 proof liquor

will not put a person over the legal limit of .08.
After having one beer your BAC would be around a .02. Again not a .20. After consuming the "3 beers max" that he would need to get a 2.0, he would actually no longer be alive since the 2.0 would mean that his blood is 200% alcohol.

The 11 beers drank within one hour would give a person that is the same size as Lagerev a blood alcohol content level of .23. Since the BAC was taken approximately 2 hours after the accident, the BAC of .2 is accurate.

Medications or drugs will not change your BAC. However, if you drink alcohol while taking certain medications, you may feel -- and be -- more impaired, which can affect your ability to perform driving-related tasks.

Your arguments are wrong here and Lagerev chose to get into a car after having 11 beverages. That amount of alcohol in someones system is a significant amount, and I am being objective here. Driving after drinking that many drinks is wrong. As a result a beautiful young girl has been taken from us.
By azsk8fan

4/29/09 at 7:13 a.m.

Suggest removal

Has anyone bothered to check up on his whereabouts lately? If he managed to make bail he's probably back in Russia by now. Taking away his passport means nothing when, in this day and age, fake documents of all kinds can be readily had. They should have locked him up and threw away the key.
By YoungGun

4/29/09 at 12:03 p.m.

Suggest removal

@ustor

You clearly have no idea what you are saying, so let me clear something up for you. The legal BAC is .08, not .8. He would be unconscious or dead if it was .8. His BAC was taken by the police 2 hours after he was arrested and it was .2. That is 2 1/2 times the legal limit. So yes, he was very very intoxicated.

Please don't speak if you don't know what you are talking about.
By JessicaXO

4/29/09 at 12:04 p.m.

Suggest removal

I think that ustour needs to stop making excuses for Lagerev. If his BAC was TWICE the legal limit at 0.08 he KNEW he was too impaired to drive and if he has lived in this country as long as his attorney says he has, he should be aware of the laws regarding driving under the influence. Even if he DIDN'T, he should have enough common sense as a PERSON to know that he was taking a deadly risk in getting behind the wheel being as impaired as he was. Please tell me how YOU would feel if a drunk driver hit YOUR car and killed YOUR child. I don't think you would be making excuses for the person at fault.

People are not wishing ill on him, persay, but that he gets JUSTICE. That Lindsay's family and friends can have a tiny bit of solace that he will pay for his crime.