LAS VEGAS, NEVADA: A video has surfaced depicting the recent hit-and-run killing of a retired police chief, which the police are calling a premeditated attack by the juvenile driver. The 64-year-old Andreas Probst is survived by his wife Crystal, as well as by his two children, Michael and Taylor.
Probst, who had retired after leaving his position as the police chief of Bell, California, in 2009, was hit and killed on August 14 while bicycling in northwest Las Vegas.
Authorities stated that the horrific incident unfolded around 6 a.m., when a 2016 Hyundai Elantra struck him from the rear and fled the scene at high speed, as per Daily Mail.
Probst was immediately rushed to University Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.
The accused Elantra driver was detained later that day, and according to the police, he was involved in the theft of a number of other vehicles that morning.
The 17-year-old killer, whose identity has not been revealed due to his age, was later taken to the Juvenile Detention Center.
Why did the teen driver ‘intentionally’ strike Andreas Probst?
In August, police stated that the driver would face upgraded charges, including an open murder count after investigators discovered footage suggesting that he intentionally struck Probst, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
This weekend, the shocking footage went viral online, showing the driver asking his pals “Ready?” as the passenger films, laughing.
“Yeah, hit his ass,” he tells the driver before he rammed into the retired police chief.
The unsettling video, which was observed by the Daily Mail, starts with the passengers cursing at passing vehicles as they go at high speed by on the North Tenaya Way close to West Centennial Parkway.
The car is then seen driving up next to a red-clad guy who is pedaling a bicycle beside the road. With his friends’ encouragement, the driver pulls into the bike lane behind him, honks his horn, and deliberately smashes directly into his back tire with a loud bang, sending the cyclist flying.
The passenger films the man lying helplessly on the side of the road and says “Damn that [N-word] got knocked out!”
It's unclear whether the person who recorded the killing has been charged with any crime. A clip of the video was shared by actor James Woods, who commented: "They stole a car and murdered a perfectly innocent man for laughs. When will it end? And more importantly, how will it end?"
How is the devastated community mourning Andreas Probst’s death?
Probst, who had a 35-year career in law enforcement, retired in 2009 and moved to Las Vegas, where he had a remote job for a security consulting firm, and took up cycling as a way to stay in shape.
His daughter, Taylor Probst told the Review-Journal that she received an alarm from her father's Apple Watch on the morning of August 14 indicating that he had fallen.
He rushed with Crystal to the crash scene but by the time they arrived, Probst had already been transported to a hospital.
However, the devastation left behind was grim. "I come from law enforcement as well in my younger days," Crystal told the newspaper, adding "I was able to ascertain, there's his bike, his helmet is way over there, his phone is way over there. I'm like, this is not good."
On September 7, community members gathered at the scene of the fatal crash to honor Probst with Ghost Bike, a permanently installed bike painted white to mark the collision point.
