Bail set at $200,000 for driver accused in pedestrian death

By Cara McCoy

Wednesday, Dec. 16, 2009 | 3:20 p.m.

Bail was set at $200,000 this morning for a man accused of having an empty bottle of Hydrocodone in his car when he allegedly lost control of his vehicle and fatally struck a pedestrian.

Mahmod Alseidahmad, 25, is facing two felony counts of reckless driving, with one count resulting in death and the second resulting in substantial bodily injury in connection with the Dec. 9 collision that left Dennis Dietrich, 56, of Celebration, Fla., dead and Willard Hilborn, 60, of Rancho Mirage, Calif., seriously injured.

The men were walking on a sidewalk along Desert Inn Road.

Chief Deputy District Attorney Bruce Nelson said today the charges would likely be amended from reckless driving to driving under the influence counts once a toxicology report was received.

Jerry Donohue, Alseidahmad’s lawyer, told the judge his client didn’t believe he was responsible for the wreck.

“I understand this was a tragic circumstance but my client believes he was not at fault and we intend to prove that,” he said.

Before Justice of the Peace Nancy Oesterle set the bail, Donohue said he didn’t believe his client would be able to post it, no matter what the amount.

Alseidahmad was arrested at University Medical Center after the collision. Police impounded Alseidahmad’s vehicle and found an empty pill bottle “in the name of Mahmod Ahmad for Hydrocodone, 120 count and a fill date of 11/11/09,” according to an arrest report released earlier this week.

Witnesses told police the black 1995 Honda Accord was traveling about 70 mph and was weaving through traffic. When the driver lost control, the vehicle spun around and the rear of the vehicle struck the pedestrians, who were walking westbound on the sidewalk along Desert Inn, police said.

The men were struck and the vehicle continued onto the sidewalk, where it eventually came to a rest after striking a light pole, the police report said.

Deitrich’s body was found about 10 feet away from the vehicle. He was pronounced dead at the scene. He was initially identified by a badge he was wearing that indicated he was in Las Vegas for a trade show, according to the report.

Alseidahmad told police he was traveling west on Desert Inn when the front of his vehicle started swerving. After that, he couldn’t see anything, “just black,” he told the investigating officer, according to the arrest report.

Alseidahmad reportedly told police he has prescriptions for Xanax, Lortab and Soma and indicated he had taken half a Xanax at about 10 p.m. the previous night but hadn’t taken Lortab or Soma for about three days.

A preliminary hearing was set for 9:30 a.m. Dec. 30.