Deadly DUI crash suspect formally charged by district attorney
The woman allegedly responsible for a deadly DUI crash last month was formally charged by the Nye County District Attorney’s office.
On Friday the DA’s office charged Ashley Winn, 22, with driving under the influence of intoxicating liquor, thereby causing the death of another, a category B felony. Winn faces two to 20 years in prison and/or a $2,000 to $5,000 fine for the alleged crash.
The charge stated Winn was under the influence of an intoxicating liquor with a concentration of alcohol of 0.08 or more.
The document also mentions Christine Theresa Weir, 33, as the person Winn caused the death of, stating that she disobeyed the instructions of an official traffic control device, by failing to stop in obedience of the stop sign for westbound traffic on Honeysuckle Street at the intersection with Dandelion Street and/or failing to yield that right of way to the vehicle the victim was traveling in.
Weir’s fiance Brian Choiniere, 33, was seriously injured in the crash, which occurred on Sept. 24, and was airlifted to UMC in Las Vegas. Choiniere has since been released from UMC.
According to the Nevada Highway Patrol’s arrest report, Winn admitted to drinking whisky up to an hour before the crash and was found to be the at-fault party in the incident.
Winn’s arrest initially caused public outcry, as she was released on her own recognizance by judge Kent Jasperson hours after her arrest. Jasperson eventually rescinded the OR decision, and ordered Winn back to jail. She turned herself back into the Nye County Sheriff’s Office at 9 a.m. Sept. 26, where her inital bail was reduced from $200,240 to $50,000.
Winn has since been released from custody after posting $50,000 bail. She was given an arraignment hearing date of Nov. 29, which her attorney, Tom Gibson, waived and requested a pretrial hearing. That date has yet to be set.
Contact reporter Mick Akers at makers@pvtimes.com. Follow @mickakers on Twitter.
