Several Canadians were injured – two of them critically – when a vehicle jumped the curb and plowed into pedestrians on the famous Las Vegas Strip on Sunday night.
One Canadian, who was visiting with family from Quebec to celebrate the holidays and his 21st birthday, escaped with minor injuries. Las Vegas news channel KTNV said Anthony Hamel of Montreal saw the 1996 Oldsmobile coming at him and was struck, then blacked out.
At a news conference on Monday morning, Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Sheriff Joe Lombardo said Jessica Valenzuela, 32, of suburban Phoenix, Ariz., was killed and 35 others were injured, with three in critical condition.
Ms. Valenzuela was visiting Las Vegas with her husband.
Late Sunday, the University Medical Center in Las Vegas, where many of the severely injured were taken, said it was treating at least five Canadians.
Witnesses and police said the car went on the sidewalk, hitting newsstands, poles and pedestrians. According to Sheriff Lombardo, some pedestrians tried to make the driver stop the car.
But it did not stop until it reached a nearby hotel, where the driver parked, stepped out – leaving her three-year-old daughter in the back seat – and calmly went to the hotel valet and told him to call 911.
Police arrested 24-year-old Lakeisha Holloway of Oregon. They say they do not believe the incident is terrorism-related, but have not ruled it out, in large part because they are having difficulty learning more about the woman.
Those injured are from the United States, Mexico and Canada, the sheriff said.
Mr. Hamel was part of a group of a dozen extended family members from Quebec and California celebrating two birthdays. He was treated for a knee injury and released.
"Why us? Why did this happen? And what really happened? Why did this girl run over the sidewalk and injure a lot of people?" an emotional Mr. Hamel asked KTNV.
"She won't be able to feel the pain that she gave to a lot of people. And actually, I'm not the worst because there's people who had really big problems. … I'm wondering if they're good, how their life will be just because of this," he added.
Mr. Hamel's grandmother, Marie Notaro, said two of her grown daughters were injured – one in the leg and the other in the head. The head injury required stitches.
All had been discharged from hospital and were scheduled to return to Canada early this week, she said.
One of her daughters called her from Las Vegas at about 6 a.m. on Monday. "She said that when she saw everyone lying on the ground, she was very scared," said Ms. Notaro, who is in her 80s.
Ms. Notaro watched the scenes on TV at her home on Montreal's South Shore. "This has not been a pleasant day," she said.
Police said the three-year-old in the suspect's car was unharmed and is in protective custody.
Hospital officials said the victims had head injuries, broken bones and cuts.
Las Vegas district attorney Steven Wolfson, who appeared with the sheriff at the news conference, said he planned to charge the woman with one count of murder with the use of a deadly weapon, attempted murder with the use of a deadly weapon, child abuse and neglect and leaving the scene of an accident.
Sheriff Lombardo said the woman had been in Las Vegas about a week, living in her car. He also said she had "some disassociation" from the father of the child and may have been driving to Dallas, Tex., where he is thought to live. Sheriff Lombardo said he was unsure what led to the attack.
According to police accounts when she was arrested, the driver appeared "coherent" and "stoic," Mr. Lombardo said.
The incident took place just after 6:30 p.m. local time on a stretch lined with hotels, casinos and restaurants. The Miss Universe pageant was under way nearby. Police believe the car struck pedestrians who were clearly on the sidewalk along two different sections of Las Vegas Boulevard near the Paris and Planet Hollywood hotels.
"I suddenly saw people flying in the air because the car hit them, and it was like a bowling ball hitting pins," said Rabia Qureshi.
"It was chaotic," Antonio Nassar was quoted as saying in the Las Vegas Sun. "I was running down the street saying, 'Move! Move! Get out of the way!' " He described a young boy being dragged by the car and others being struck.
According to police, the car with Oregon licence plates was driven onto the sidewalk two or more times. Police officials will be reviewing video footage from the many casino-hotels in the area, said Captain Brett Zimmerman.
According to one witness, the car was travelling at about 50 kilometres per hour when it struck pedestrians. "It was just massacring people," said Justin Cochrane, who is a property manager from Santa Barbara, Calif.
Mr. Cochrane was sitting outside the Paris Hotel eating dinner at a sidewalk restaurant. He described the car driving back on the road and into a second crowd of pedestrians.
"Why would it slow to go around and then accelerate again?" he said. "I thought, it's a crazy person."
With reports from Ingrid Peritz in Montreal, Associated Press and The Canadian Press