A pair of teenagers are facing murder charges as adults after targeting a bicyclist in Las Vegas and capturing the moments they hit the former California police chief on video.
Local police said they have tied the teens to at least three hit-and-run incidents on the morning of 14 August.
They believe the death of 64-year-old Andreas Rene Probst, a former police chief in Bell, California, brought their rampage to an end.
Graphic video shows the view from the passenger seat of a stolen car approaching Probst from behind at speed as he was riding near the curb on an otherwise clear Las Vegas road.
The teens can be heard laughing and one saying “hit his ass” before the bicyclist, wearing a red shirt and dark shorts, is rammed and flung against the windscreen.
A final image from the moving car shows Probst on the ground next to the curb.
Deputy Police Chief Nick Farese said the hit and run was an “appalling” and a “cowardly act”.
Teenage boy survives 100ft fall during family trip to Grand Canyon
Cardi B mic thrown at fan in Las Vegas sells for almost $100,000 on eBay
Cardi B: Police in Las Vegas drop battery investigation after microphone throw at beach club
Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson said he has taken a personal interest in the case and vowed to charge both teens as adults.
Until then, he said they wouldn’t be identified.
“Justice will be served in this case,” Wolfson said.
At a news conference on Tuesday, Taylor Probst described her father – known by loved ones as “Andy” – as a man of honour and integrity who worked for more than 35 years in law enforcement.
“We are devastated by the senseless murder of Andy,” she said. “Andy’s life was robbed by two individuals who did not believe that lives of others matter.”
The 17-year-old driver was arrested shortly after spree of crashes on traffic charges related to the fatal hit-and-run.
Police said they initially weren’t aware of the video but upgraded the driver’s charge to murder weeks later after a school resource officer provided the video to investigators.
The second teen was arrested on Tuesday.
According to police, the crime spree began just before dawn when the teenagers allegedly struck a 72-year-old bicyclist before driving off and crashing into a Toyota Corolla.
The driver wasn’t injured in the crash, police said, although they didn’t detail what injuries, if any, the bicyclist suffered.
Seconds after striking the Toyota, the teenagers drove into Probst as he rode his bicycle in a designated cycle lane.
“They took off laughing,” said Chief Farese, “leaving him for dead on the side of a road.”
