Las Vegas motorist well over blood-alcohol limit in fiery bus crash that killed 2, hurt 4

Published May 03, 2016

Blood tests found that a Las Vegas motorist was more than 2.5 times over the legal limit for alcohol after a fiery three-vehicle crash that killed a tour bus driver and a German tourist, prosecutors said Monday.

Jonathan Donner, 25, remained hospitalized and unable to appear in Las Vegas Justice Court while five felony charges were filed against him in the Sept. 5 crash at a busy downtown Las Vegas intersection. Donner wasn't represented by a lawyer.

Justice of the Peace Karen Bennett-Haron rescheduled Donner's arraignment for Sept. 21.

Family members of the dead tour driver, Jose Francisco Cosenza, 53, of Las Vegas, spoke in the hallway with Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson and prosecutor Brian Rutledge.

Daughter Evelyn Hernandez said they want to see Donner sent to prison.

Wolfson told reporters that Donner's blood-alcohol level at the hospital was 0.22 percent, well above the legal limit in Nevada of 0.08 percent.

Donner faces two charges of driving under the influence causing the deaths of Cosenza and a 34-year-old German whose name hasn't been made public. He also faces three charges of DUI causing substantial bodily harm for injuries to other people in the bus.

He could face up to 100 years in prison if convicted of all charges.

Police identified the injured people as Stefanie Kloeppel, 30, of Germany, and Brian Zerbee, 39, and Sara Zerbee, 34, both of Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

Donner is accused of speeding through a red light in a BMW and hitting the tour bus, causing it to overturn and burst into flames. The BMW also caught fire and spun into another car.

Donner received moderate injuries. The driver of the second car wasn't injured.

URL

https://www.foxnews.com/us/las-vegas-motorist-well-over-blood-alcohol-limit-in-fiery-bus-crash-that-killed-2-hurt-4