Lakeisha Holloway filmed a video in 2012, saying a Portland youth center had helped her turn her life around.
Lakeisha Holloway, the woman who drove onto a Las Vegas Strip sidewalk to injure 36 people and kill 1 other, was honored publicly for turning her life around. Holloway was featured in a video made by a Portland at-risk youth center.
Lakeisha Holloway was born and raised in Oregon, and only recently moved to Las Vegas. She is being held without bond at the moment.
Filmed a Youth Center Video
In the 2012 video for the Portland Opportunities Industrialization Center, Lakeisha Holloway said, “Boy, have I come a long ways. I was a scared little girl who knew that there was more to life outside of crime, drug addiction, lower income, alcoholism, being undereducated — all of which I grew up being familiar with.”
She told the video’s makers that she had gone from homelessness to “living a grand life” after the youth center helped her find a job with the federal government. The Portland Opportunities Industrialization Center provides education and training for at-risk youths, helping them to get out of a cycle of poverty, hopelessness, and crime.
Faces a Murder Charge
Now, the 24-year old motorist faces murder charges after running down 1 pedestrian. Witnesses say Holloway returned to the sidewalk 2 or 3 additional times, as if she was targeting pedestrians in an attempt to cause maximum damage. She also faces a charge of “leaving the scene of an accident”, as well as “child abuse or neglect”, because she allegedly committed the crimes while her 3-year old child was in the backseat of the car.
People at the scene outside the Paris Resort on Las Vegas Boulevard tried to get Holloway to stop, running after the car. Some even beat on the window of her automobile when she stopped at a redlight. That is when she sped off, fleeing the scene of the crime. Minutes later, she turned herself in to a security guard. Police are still unsure of the motive in the crime, though they are certain it is not terror-related.
“Disassociation with the Father of the Child”
With no answers, the public is only left to speculate on Lakeisha Holloway’s motives. Clark County Sheriff Joe Lombardo said he was uncertain why the Lakeisha Holloway chose to drive through a sidewalk full of pedestrians, but he said, “We believe that she had some disassociation with the father of her child.”
Sheriff Lombardo added that she was not under the influence of drugs or alcohol when she committed the crime. Lombardo said, whatever angst the driver had, they still were unable to determine whether something had “caused her to snap” or “whether it was planned previously.”
Remembered a Body Bouncing Off Windshield
The only further details released described Lakeisha Holloway’s actions just prior to the crime. She described how she had been trying to sleep in her car with her child, but security kept chasing her away. After this happened multiple time, she ended up on the Las Vegas Strip, which reports said “she did not want to be”.
The police report only said, “She would not explain why she drove onto the sidewalk but remembered a body bouncing off of her windshield, breaking it.”
It began as an otherwise normal December night on the Las Vegas Strip. The most notable event of the night was expected to be the Miss Universe Pageant, which was taking place nearby at the Planet Hollywood Resort while the car attack was happening.
Justin Cochrane witnessed the crime. Cochrane said he was having dinner at a sidewalk restaurant outside the Paris Hotel when he saw the car barreling through the crowd. Cochrane said, “It was just massacring people”
He estimated the car was going 30 to 40 miles per hour. He added, “It seemed like they were going pretty fast. People were flying. It just never stopped it wasn’t hitting cars it was hitting people.”
The Deceased: Jessica Valenzuela
The woman who died at the scene of the crime was Jessica Valenzuela, a 32-year old woman from Buckeye, Arizona. Jessica Valenzuela is a mother of 3 girls who was in Las Vegas with her husband, celebrating their 10-year anniversary. It is said her husband had surprised her with the trip to Las Vegas to celebrate their anniversary.
Coroner John Fudenberg of the Clark County Office of Public Communications released a statement on behalf of his department which said, “Our thoughts and prayers are with all those affected by the tragic events that occurred last night on the Strip.”
Angelina Chavez, Jessica’s neighbor in Buckeye, said the tragedy had caused so much sorrow. Chavez said, “It makes me wanna cry. She has kids my age. It makes me want to cry, thinking something like that could happen.”
Jessica Valenzuela GoFundMe Fundraiser
The family of Jessica Valenzuela has set up a “Go Fund Me” page to raise funds to help pay for expenses to transport Jessica’s body back to Buckeye.
The GoFundMe fundraiser has collected $29,175 of a requested $30,000 target. 873 people have donated money in less than 1 day’s time. The family is thanking those who have donated time and money. ‘
