Texas man gets prison in Vegas DUI sports car-moped crash

LAS VEGAS (AP) — A Texas man who admitted driving drunk in a speeding sports car that killed a Las Vegas man on a motorized street scooter has been sentenced to six to 20 years in Nevada state prison.

Andrew James Rodriguez, 34, of New Braunfels, Texas, apologized in court Wednesday to the family of Walter “Jay” Anderson, the 58-year-old man killed in the June 2021 crash on a boulevard southwest of the Las Vegas Strip.

“It was an accident, and I never meant to hurt anybody, and I’m sorry for your loss,” Rodriguez said, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported.

Rodriguez pleaded guilty in March to driving under the influence causing death in a plea deal that avoided trial and included his agreed-upon sentence. He was led from the courtroom in handcuffs.

His attorney, Richard Schonfeld, on Thursday called the crash a tragic circumstance and said his client expressed sincere remorse to Anderson’s family.

Anderson was riding a moped, and police said computer data from the 2017 Lamborghini Huracan showed Rodriguez reached 141 mph (227 kph) before decreasing to 127 mph (204 kph) when airbags deployed.