LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — Police arrested an Uber driver after they said he twice ran over an innocent bystander during an argument in Las Vegas, according to documents Nexstar’s KLAS obtained.
Kevin Vo, 45, faces a charge of reckless driving resulting in death, records said. Vo was driving for the rideshare company at the time, police said.
On Friday, August 8, around 10:20 p.m., Metro police received several 911 calls about an SUV striking a person near the intersection of First Street and Ogden Avenue in Vegas’ downtown.
The victim, Matthew Bowens, 56, died despite help from Las Vegas Fire and Rescue paramedics and a security guard, police said.
Witnesses told police the driver, identified as Vo, was in an argument with another man before he allegedly backed into Bowens, drove forward, running him over a second time, and collided with the Circa Resort & Casino, police said.
“Mr. Vo was seen on video outside his vehicle, arguing with the man before re-entering it,” documents said. “As Mr. Vo re-entered his vehicle, [Bowens] walked behind the Cadillac from the west to the east, outside of a marked or implied crosswalk. Mr. Vo put his vehicle in reverse and began to back up, quickly turning the wheel and changing directions to the northeast.”
Police allege Vo “ran over” Bowens twice, documents said, with “rapid acceleration.” Vo then exited his car and “attended” to Bowens before EMS arrived. At the time of Vo’s arrest, police had not yet found the second man involved in the altercation.
At the time of his arrest, police suspected Vo was impaired; however, records show prosecutors are not charging Vo with any impairment-related charge.
In an interview with police, Vo said he was waiting for a fare when an unknown man approached his car.
“He stated the male made unprovoked threats towards him, stating that he would kill him,” police said. “The male attempted to enter the passenger door of the vehicle, but he was able to lock the door to prevent his entry.”
Vo told police he attempted to scare the man away with a “window breaker” and later remembered reversing the car, accelerating forward, and colliding with the building, documents said.
During Vo’s probable cause hearing in Las Vegas Justice Court on Saturday, Judge Daniel Westmeyer set bail at $250,000, records said. Vo was expected to return to court on Wednesday.
Metro police identified Bowens as “Bowen,” however, the coroner’s office identified him as “Bowens.” His cause and manner of death remained pending as of Wednesday.
A representative from Uber did not immediately return a request for comment.
