A road-rage incident on an otherwise peaceful Sunday has taken the life of a 69-year old Henderson man.

What Were the Circumstances?

The Nevada Highway Patrol released the names of three of the four culprits involved in the incident, which occurred just before 1 p.m. on the northbound I-15 near Moapa. According to NHP, witnesses saw the drivers of a BMW, Jeep, and Cadillac driving recklessly on the I-15 southbound. Of the multitude of reckless behaviors exhibited, one included someone in the Cadillac throwing a bottle at the Jeep.

At that point, the driver of the Jeep attempted to pass the BMW on the left shoulder of the highway. However, the driver hit the side of the BMW and lost control — crossing the center median to collide with a Mini Cooper head-on.

An Innocent Life Lost

The driver of the Mini Cooper was an innocent, 69-year-old man named Michael Prinaris. He died at the scene.

Additional innocent victims in other cars were affected by the incident and rushed to the hospital with injuries.

The Drivers Now Face Criminal Charges

As for the drivers involved in the road rage, Nan Ying, 24, was the driver of the BMW. He was not injured and is facing a misdemeanor charge of reckless driving. Jincheng Sun, 19, was the driver of the Cadillac and is also being charged with misdemeanor reckless driving. Zizilong Wang, 20, was the passenger who threw the bottle out of the car window and is charged with littering.

The identity of the 35-year-old driver of the Jeep has not been released; he faced life-threatening injuries but remains stable at UMC. He has been “booked in absentia” for felony reckless driving with death. Each of these drivers will have to work vigorously with an experienced criminal defense attorney to receive favorable sentencing.