A Las Vegas man is reeling after his bicyclist wife was killed in a senseless act.
Michelle "Shelli" Weissman was out for a bike ride along Hollywood Boulevard when a recklessly driven minivan approached her. Witnesses say the passenger of the minivan was hanging halfway out the window.
The two men in the minivan drove closer to the sidewalk, attempting to strike people on it. The passenger succeeded in striking Shelli. He knocked her to the ground, killing her.
The man then fell out of the vehicle and hit a light pole. He also died, and the driver fled the scene. The unthinkable act resulted in so much needless tragedy. Although the driver has since been taken into custody, there's no real indication of why he and his passenger were driving like this. That's what's so hard for Lonny Weissman, Shelli's devastated husband. He is crushed not only by her death but by how needlessly and inexplicably it happened.
A baffling incident in Las Vegas has left two people dead. A minivan that appeared to have been racing and driving recklessly among a larger pack of cars broke away. The car drove along Hollywood Boulevard, with a man on the passenger side hanging halfway out the window.
The passenger attempted to hit pedestrians on the sidewalk while hanging out of the car. After he missed the pedestrians, he hit 56-year-old Michelle "Shelli" Weissman. She was riding her bicycle and was knocked over, dying almost instantly.
The passenger then fell out of the moving car as a result of the contact. Because of the high speed involved, he skidded about 150 feet, hit a light pole, and also died. Police were completely confounded by the incident.
"Senseless is an understatement," Lieutenant Raymond Spencer told News 3 Las Vegas.
"You have a woman who was out riding her bicycle and they pull up next to her and strike her, causing her to die," he continued.
"It's an absolute senseless act. There's no reason behind this that I can tell you why it occurred, other than complete stupidity."
The driver of the minivan, later identified as 22-year-old Rodrigo Cruz, fled the scene. He was later apprehended by officers and arrested.
Rodrigo was booked into the Clark County Detention Center for one count of open murder, failure to stop at the scene of an accident, and violating the conditions of his parole.
Shelli's husband, Lonny Weissman, is struggling with the loss of his wife.
"It's been pretty much a complete shock," he told KLAS.
"Something I could not imagine or dream up if I even took the hardest effort I possibly could."
Shelli brought so much joy, and he is hurting knowing how senseless her death was.
"She was a ray of sunshine," Lonny said.
"What happened was a flat out horrendous and unnecessary tragedy that was 100 percent avoidable."
Shelli started biking as something to do during the last few months at home.
"She would go out and want to ride from here to the Wetlands Park loop and go out there and ride the bike trail," Lonny said.
That was just one of Shelli's many interests.
A Las Vegas native, Shelli was always up for a good time.
"She liked to go to the gym and work out. But her and I, we would go to concerts and when we were younger, we loved to go dancing," recalled her best friend, Elena Presilla.
"Compassionate, kind, caring," said friend Teressa Sherrod of Shelli.
Hundreds of people gathered at the site of the accident for a vigil honoring Shelli on Thursday.
"She had a heart as big as anyone that you know," her oldest sister, Karen Reda, said at the vigil.
"She took care of everyone. Shelli was the light that brightened the room."
