Man charged with DUI in death of Rebel Girl indicted

By Jean Reid Norman

Wednesday, May 20, 2009 | 4:19 p.m.

A Clark County grand jury today indicted Vladimir Lagerev on charges of driving under the influence of alcohol in the April 15 death of UNLV Rebel Girl Lindsay Bennett.

Bennett was killed after her 2006 Honda was hit head-on about 9:30 p.m. on the Windmill Road off-ramp of Interstate 215.

“In most DUI cases, when somebody goes through a red light, there may be a question as to what occurred,” Chief Deputy District Attorney Bruce Nelson said. “When you go wrong way on the freeway, it’s pretty clear what happened.”

The grand jury heard testimony from a medical examiner, three eyewitnesses and the two Nevada Highway Patrol officers who responded to the crash.

The indictment alleges that Lagerev drove his 2008 Acura south on the Windmill off-ramp, hitting Bennett’s car. He had a blood alcohol level of 0.20, Nelson said.

Lagerev’s attorney Stephen Stein said the indictment was not a surprise. The grand jurors heard only the prosecutors’ evidence. Stein chose not to present any.

“Grand juries are not very fair,” he said.

Lagerev remains in the Clark County Detention Center on $250,000 bail. He is scheduled to be arraigned at 9 a.m. May 27 in District Court.

Bennett, a 2008 Coronado High School graduate who was majoring in architecture at UNLV, died at University Medical Center after two days in intensive care. She would have turned 19 three days after her death.