LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — Video the 8 News Now Investigators obtained shows a truck driver on the wrong side of the road for nearly half a minute before colliding with a group of motorcyclists, killing three – in a crash state police once believed involved impairment but appears not to at all.
Claude Rafiki, 29, had a valid commercial driver’s license out of Michigan at the time of the March 23 crash, but his two-year medical certification was due to expire March 24 — the day after the crash, according to documents the 8 News Now Investigators obtained Tuesday. Drivers in Michigan are required to submit an updated medical clearance before the expiration date, officials with the Michigan Secretary of State’s office confirmed. Because he did not submit updated medical certificate information, Rafiki’s license was downgraded and his CDL has not been valid as of March 24.
Rafiki faces three charges of reckless driving resulting in death for the crash on State Route 163 near Laughlin. A witness said Rafiki crossed over the highway’s centerline, crashing into two motorcycles, killing its two drivers and one passenger.
Police initially arrested Rafiki on three charges of DUI resulting in death. Investigators later determined there was no evidence Rafiki was impaired.
The crash killed Owen Hart, 22; Athena Faye Taylor, 21; and Jeremy Gebo, 44, all of St. George, Utah, the coroner’s office said. The group was riding from St. George and headed to Laughlin at the time of the crash.
Prosecutors submitted the dashcam video from Rafiki’s truck into evidence as part of the criminal case against him. The recording is correlated with the truck’s engine – starting and stopping when the truck starts and stops and unable to be manipulated, a safety manager for Pan American Cargo said.
Rafiki was driving in the No. 1 travel lane – the one closest to the centerline – and not in the No. 2 lane as required for semis, a trooper testified. Rafiki then allegedly drove on the wrong side of the road for 25 seconds, documents said.
Cory Beard, the leader of the group of eight bikes riding to Laughlin, said he barely missed getting hit. Those involved in the crash had viewed the dashcam video before the grand jury proceeding, documents indicated.
“We came around a corner and to my surprise was a semi in our lane — totally confusing,” Beard told the grand jury. “I didn’t know, I didn’t know if I was in the wrong lane. When I realized he was in our lane I veered left, banked to the left and just barely cleared the semi.”
The group was headed toward Laughlin and came around a curve when the crash happened, Beard said.
“Complete confusion,” Beard said about the crash. “I didn’t know why he was in our lane. I had no idea. I had less than a second to make a decision on whether I was in the wrong lane or whether he was in our lane, so I made the decision to go left into oncoming traffic.”
Another witness testified the semi ended up against a guardrail on the wrong side of the road.
Rafiki told police the “wind” caused him to go the wrong way, documents said. He said he was not impaired and took medicine for seizures, documents said. A Nevada State Police Highway Patrol trooper testified “there was definitely wind” at the time he arrived at the crash scene.
In his arrest report, a trooper wrote Rafiki’s performance on his field sobriety tests was “unsatisfactory,” adding he had “bloodshot eyes” and an “unsteady gait.” The trooper also testified he did not see any alcoholic beverages or drugs in the truck or any “outside signs of impairment,” documents said. Another trooper said the wind can make it difficult for a driver to maintain his or her lane.
After his arrest, a Laughlin Justice Court official declined to release Rafiki’s arrest report, citing Nevada State Police as the rightful agency to do so. Unlike Las Vegas Metro police, Nevada State Police has a policy of not releasing arrest reports amid pending criminal proceedings. The department appeared to go against its policy in the documents released to the 8 News Now Investigators.
State police never released any information about why they believed Rafiki was impaired other than what was in the documents.
Rafiki remained in custody Tuesday on $500,000 bail. A trial was scheduled for June.
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