The man accused of killing a woman at a bus stop earlier this month pled not guilty in court Thursday. Steven Murray is charged with DUI and vehicular homicide.

This could be Murray's fifth DUI if he's convicted, and because of that history, he'll be the first person ever tried in Nevada for vehicular homicide.

“Not guilty,” said Murray.

That's about all Steven Murray had to say in court Thursday. But he's been found guilty of DUI four times before in Texas.

“In this case, we have to prove he was impaired, that he was driving and that he hurt someone,” said Bruce Nelson, Deputy D.A..

On July 7, His truck plowed into a bus stop at Flamingo and Boulder Highway, killing Patricia Hoff and critically injuring Porsche Hughes. That woman lost her leg and remains hospitalized.

Murray was arrested and charged with DUI causing death or bodily harm and vehicular homicide.

“He was found to have large amounts of valium in his blood stream,” said Nelson.

Last week, a grand jury heard enough evidence to indict him.

“The thing that struck me most about the grand jury was one of the witnesses said he was at the bus stop, knew the two ladies, was chatting with them and wanted to smoke a cigarette and knew the one lady didn't like smoke, so he moved away from them seconds before he ran into the two of them,” said Nelson.

Now, Murray will face a jury in January and prosecutors say this will be a landmark case. “It's so hard to find someone who drinks, drives, kills someone and has three prior convictions,” said Nelson.

Murray told police he had taken valium the night before the accident because of pain from surgeries. Prosecutors also believe Murray had Oxycontin in his system, but the lab results have not come back on that yet.

Murray will stay at the Clark County Detention Center with a $500,000 bail.

Email your comments to Reporter Calvert Collins.

The Red Cross is helping residents who lost their homes in an apartment fire in Henderson. The fire broke out in an upstairs unit on Mountain Vista Drive.

It spread to at least one other unit. Both apartments were reportedly destroyed. And one downstairs apartment received significant water damage from fighting the fire.

The flames at one point also sparked a small brush fire, but was quickly extinguished.

There were no reports of injuries, and the cause of the fire is still under investigation.

The push for a safer pedestrian crossing continues after a young woman was run over by an SUV and killed. Eyewitness News told you about the 19-year-old killed Friday night when she was hit by an SUV while in a crosswalk at Las Vegas Boulevard and Wigwam.

Even more people are now speaking out about the dangers of this intersection. Just stand on that corner for a few minutes and the people will come — both pedestrians and drivers – and all say that intersection amounts to a danger zone.

Cars fly by and pedestrians say taking the crosswalk is just as risky as jaywalking.

“Cars, they do not stop. They just keep speeding, and I almost got hit one time myself, I really did,” shared pedestrian Monique Nasha.

Verlaine Powless, 19, was obeying the law Friday night when she was struck in the street and killed.

“It's a tragedy. People should pay attention to what they're doing,” said pedestrian Lynne Darden.

Verlaine's death is on the minds of these pedestrians. As they have the right-of-way, the guys try to get an approaching taxi to slow down. The driver hits the brakes – gives back a gesture and drives on.

“Especially that taxicab driver. That was pretty bad,” said Kwaun Strong.

They do make it across safely, but the waiting cars are ready to take off.

“You see that. He's coming, and he slams on his brakes at the last minute. People don't realize when people are crossing the street, you got to look,” said pedestrian Sean Winn.

Concerned citizens have their ideas of what needs to be done.

“Stop signs, stop signs,” said Nasha.

“They need a light,” said Strong.

“Sorry to jump in front of the camera, but a light,” said Winn.

Because many feel the crosswalk is insufficient.

A flashing light warns drivers to slow down and be on the lookout. At the pedestrian crosswalk, if you look down on the ground, a lot of the paint is now faded, and many say that's just unacceptable.

“What crosswalk? What crosswalk are you speaking of? That's a crosswalk?” asked pedestrian J. Ross. 

A stop light may be in place in 2009, but a petition drive demanding a light now is already underway — so no one else loses their life at this deadly crossing.

Email your comments to Reporter Aaron Drawhorn.

Pedestrians say they're risking their lives as cars fly by. At nighttime, it's dark and they're just trying to cross the street. A young woman was killed Friday night. Berlaine Powless, 19, was run over by an SUV in a marked crosswalk. Monday night, her friends, family and concerned neighbors gathered for a vigil.

Berlaine was just getting off work. She was walking in the crosswalk to get to the bus stop when she was struck in the street.

“She's still young – 19-years-old, 19-years-old. It's terrible, really terrible,” said Father-in-Law Jesus Torres.

All day, her friends stopped by to pay their respects. “She touched a lot of people, was a good person, and I hope she can hear me, because I love her a lot,” said friend Jessica Aquino.

They miss Berlaine's smile and pleasant demeanor.

“Lovely spirit, a bright soul, and it's very disturbing that she won't be here anymore,” said friend Valita Garcia.

While they mourn Berlaine's passing and celebrate her life, they're also upset the events of Friday night were allowed to happen.

“It's senseless. It's senseless. Something's got to be done,” said friend Tracy Villegas.

They say a traffic signal at the intersection is long overdue. Concerned citizens who never even knew Berlaine are fighting for a light. “I'm disgusted with it. It's insanity,” said Pete Jackson.

In just a few minutes, Eyewitness News saw pedestrians cross the street as cars sped by, not even phased by the warning signal telling them to slow down.

“I've crossed with the street with my 2-year-old grandson and cars get mad. They don't want to stop to let you cross!” said friend Diana Maeda.

She's starting a petition drive, urging county leaders to put up a light before anyone else loses their life just trying to get to the other side of the road.

“Eleven years, we've been trying to work on this and what do we get? A teaser? A flashing light that's a teaser,” said Karen Jaikowski.

Eyewitness News checked with Clark County about why a light was never put up before. We're told this intersection “has not met the warrants” to install a traffic signal. But we've learned improvement plans for the stretch of the boulevard are in the works and a traffic light will likely be installed by year's end.

The accident is still under investigation by Metro, but the SUV's driver, 38-year-old Angelo Hurst of Detroit, Michigan, has been charged with misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter.

Email your comments to Reporter Aaron Drawhorn.

The West Nile Virus has been detected in a cluster of mosquitoes in east Las Vegas, according to the Southern Nevada Health District.

In 2007, there were three human cases of the virus reported in Clark County. There were a total of 12 cases statewide.

The mosquitoes were found in the 89122 zip code which includes the Desert Wetlands Park.  The health district says it routinely does surveys around the valley looking for mosquitoes carrying the virus.

Tips to avoid getting bitten by mosquitoes

• Use a repellent with DEET.
• Wear pants and long-sleeved shirts outdoors.
• Avoid spending time outside when mosquitoes are most active, usually at dusk and dawn.

The health district says stagnant water is an optimal breeding source for mosquitoes so they urge residents eliminate areas of standing water and maintian swimming pools. If you have any questions, you can call the Mosquito Control Hotline at 759-1220 or click here for additional information.

A little girl in Boulder City has the medical community stumped. She went from a healthy and normal nine-month-old to suddenly having difficulty moving. Now at 2-years-old, Gracie Sauer can only walk a few steps with help, and doctors don't know why.

Her parents feel if doctors knew what was wrong with her then maybe they could find a treatment or cure.

Jennifer and Scott Sauer say Gracie was perfect from birth. Doctors even gave her a clean bill of health. “She was relatively normal until nine months and then that's when everything began regressing,” Jennifer said.

Gracie suddenly didn't want to wake up to eat and could no longer hold herself up. Her frightened parents rushed her to the hospital.

“She was a pin cushion for 2-3 months and they immediately ordered her first brain MRI,” Said Jennifer. Doctors found mild brain atrophy. They told the parents that there seemed to be something wrong with the nerves in her brain that control motor function, but they didn't know why.

“She has some type of metobolic disorder. What ever that is, we will probably never know and it might not have a cure,” said Dr. Heath Hodapp, Gracie's doctor.

Doctors at UCLA were just as stumped but they say gracie's symptoms were likely to never improve and she may only live another 2 years.

“At that point, you just take the doctor's word for it and you do not know when you are going to lose your child,” Jennifer said.

But now almost a year later, Gracie is proving them all wrong and still has doctors guessing.  “Sometimes not knowing what is wrong is a blessing because we chose to believe that she will get better and she is getting better,” Jennifer said.

“She has always surprised us. The minute you think she may not do anything like kick a ball, or remember, last Christmas when she took her first step and no one expected that,” said Scott.

Gracie's parents credit her strong will as well as her physical therapist for her continued improvement. The next step for Gracie is a three week camp in Los Angeles where she will get intense physical therapy that will hopefully lead to her eventually walking.

Right now her parents are trying to save up the money for the camp. The classes alone cost $8,000.

If you would like to help the Sauer family send Gracie to camp or learn more about Gracie, just click here.

The deadline to register to vote in the primary election has already passed, but the Henderson City Clerk’s office is pushing to make sure that they register as many Henderson residents as possible.

“If they’re not voting, they’re silent,” Forst said.

Marilee Forst from the clerk’s office organized a voter registration drive at the Whitney Ranch Recreation Center on July 23^rd to try and catch unregistered parents as they dropped their kids off for the day. 

Forst said that the importance of this election makes every vote critical on both the national and local level.  That’s why her office is holding multiple drives so that residents who can’t get around Henderson that easily will still have a chance to register somewhere near their homes.

“When it comes time to vote in August for the primary as well as November for the general election, they have no excuse.”

Call (702) 267-1400 or click here for more information about Henderson voter registration and upcoming drives.

  

Instead of sitting in front of the TV all summer, a group of kids are busy learning about chemical reactions, compounds, and how the world around them works.

Dani Dynamite is a summer camp director for Mad Science, a company that has been organizing kids’ science camps throughout Las Vegas for five years.

“It’s a better alternative than day care.  So they’re learning science, hands-on experiments and science projects that they can do here or at home because we tell them about all the different stuff that they can do.  The parents like it because it’s more than just day care.  We’re not just looking after their kids, we’re actually teaching them stuff as well,” Dani said.

Dani started working in human relations with Mad Science two years ago, but when she saw how much fun the camp directors have with kids, she just had to start camps of her own.

“I love teaching them something that they may already know a little bit about, and then the light bulb goes off above their head, and they’re like, ‘Oh! That’s how it works!’ I just love that idea, the way that they realize things like that,” Dani said.

Each camp lasts a week, and seven are held throughout the summer.  Each week has a different theme and the kids learn about everything from nature, to crime scene investigation, to “owl’s poop,” a subject that one student said was his favorite.

“I found bones and skulls and a bat inside…”

The kids also get to make projects that they can take home too.  One day they made sidewalk chalk out of Plaster of Paris, tempura paint and water.  The goodies and the gross-outs are what matter to the kids, but their parents are thankful for something educational to preoccupy them on long summer days.

A private plane made an emergency landing Saturday morning in a residential neighborhood.   It happened at the intersection of Cactus Ave. and Maryland Pkwy. at 8 a.m.

The pilot reported the plane had trouble with one of its engines as it was approaching Henderson Executive Airport. She says she tried to re-start the engine, but it didn't work, forcing her to declare an emergency and look for a safe place to land.

No one was injured. The emergency landing is under investigation.

Every month downtown Henderson hosts Third Thursday, a family friendly event on Water Street. The festival features Thursday night Live! music performances, activities for kids, and a wide range of art for viewing and buying. While the Henderson event is often compared to its more established counterpart, First Friday, the regulars and organizers of the event believe they are worlds apart.

“The right comparison to make is to the pre-First Friday.  That’s when the arts buyers show up at the galleries in the Las Vegas Arts District.  This is directly comparable to that.  In fact, I’m teaching a course in photographic gallery management and practices, and I brought my students on the pre first Friday in July to see what the galleries were doing there compared to what they’re doing across the street right now in operating my gallery as the final project in their class. It’s very comparable in terms of numbers and the interest level of the people that come,” Gary Reese, from the Plaza Gallery said.

Vendors at Third Thursday say that the crowd is much different than the First Friday or Fourth Friday art festivals, and while it’s not as well established, the Henderson event still draws good crowds.

“They’ve done a very good job of making it a family oriented included event, where (First) Friday is really primarily for those young adults who are just out pre-partying to the rest of their Friday night,” Trev Stinnett, owner of Geosoul Arts said.

Stinnett is a Venetian glass blower who sells his work at the three art festivals every month. He said he changes his merchandise based on the crowd, and that he has boosted sales in a slow economy with smaller jewelry pieces that anyone can afford.

One of Gary Reese’s students, Nichole Beltran, sold an Oregon landscape photograph on Thursday night, and helped to run Plaza Gallery as part of her final project. She used to show her work in L.A. and has exhibited at First Friday, but she says she prefers the Henderson crowd.

 ”I like that it’s slower paced, it’s not a circus act like First Friday… It’s a lot calmer. You can really stop and take a look at some of the art galleries and get a feel of the art, instead of being rushed and pushed from piece to piece and First Friday is just crazy,” Beltran said.

Another major component of Third Thursday is the ARTsWALK event for kids. On average, a group of 40 kids roam downtown to learn about art and even create some of their own. Their leader, Susanne Reese appreciates the unique opinions kids give artists.

“The children’s perception of art and their comments about art are so wonderful. And there are a lot of things, like modern art exhibits, where the children really (get) the art. They really enjoyed it, whereas adults would walk in and they already have a mature mindset, and they would look at contemporary art and maybe wonder what it was all about. Children know exactly. They know what they like and they can tell me all about it,” Reese said.