Las Vegas Strip Closed for 15 Hours Following Shooting That Ended in Fatal Fiery Car Crash
A shootout that ended in a car crash engulfed in flames on the Las Vegas strip closed down the main road where the incident left a cab driver, a passenger in the cab and a rapper dead, and four other people injured.
According to CNN, a dispute broke out a little before 4:30 a.m. Thursday, Feb. 21, 2013 in the valet lot of Aria, a hotel about a block away from the crash site. The situation continued into the street, where a person in a black Range Rover Sport fired several shots at a Maserati as it was driven north on Las Vegas Boulevard.
The driver of the Maserati was hit by the gunfire and lost control of the vehicle as it went into the intersection of Las Vegas Boulevard and Flamingo Road. As it went through the intersection it collided with a taxi, which then caught fire while on the street outside of Caesar's Palace.
The driver of the Maserati was rapper Kenneth Cherry Jr., known also as Kenny Clutch, who is from Oakland, Calif., but was residing in Las Vegas. He and the cab driver, as well as the cab driver's passenger all died. A passenger in the Maserati and three other people involved in the situation were injured.
Las Vegas police said that they are working on finding the Range Rover, and those who were in it during the shooting. The vehicle sped away from the intersection following the shooting.
Police departments in surrounding states have been alerted to keep an eye out for the vehicle.
The Range Rover had an out-of-state dealer plate, tinted windows and large, black rims, Las Vegas Police Sergeant John Sheahan told CNN.
While the crime scene was investigated, the block surrounding it was closed off for a period of more than 15 hours, according to the Las Vegas Review Journal.
Surveillance cameras from the hotels adjacent to the crash have been collected to aid in the investigation.
Videos and photos that have surfaced from the incident show a fireball shooting out from the cab into the sky.