LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — An alleged drunk driver accused of killing a pedestrian on the Las Vegas Strip on Tuesday was out of custody for a prior DUI charge filed less than four months earlier, records the 8 News Now Investigators obtained said.
Brandon Kelekolio, 32, faces charges of DUI resulting in death and reckless driving for the fatal crash on Las Vegas Boulevard near Caesars Palace on Tuesday morning. Kelekolio was driving on a revoked license at the time of Tuesday morning’s crash, documents said.
Gewadin Eliot, 45, of Ontario, Canada, was killed in the crash, police said. Video evidence showed Eliot walking against a do-not-walk signal before Kelekolio’s car hit him, throwing him onto the windshield and into the air, officers said.
Officers located Kelekolio sitting in the SUV’s driver’s seat. The car was running and in drive, police said.
Kelekolio told officers he was at a Las Vegas Strip casino before the crash, police said.
Records show Kelekolio’s license was ordered revoked on Dec. 16, 2022, after a previous DUI arrest.
On Dec. 15, a Metro police officer stopped Kelekolio after he made a U-turn on Arville Road, a report said. While speaking to Kelekolio during the traffic stop, an officer believed him to be impaired, documents said.
Records show a judge, whose name is not included in the court record, released Kelekolio without setting bail as prosecutors had not filed a criminal complaint against him. Police said Kelekolio’s license was ordered revoked the same day as the hearing. Kelekolio was due in court on April 20 for the Dec. 15 DUI charge.
During a hearing for the April 4 crash on Wednesday, prosecutors asked Judge Rebecca Saxe to set bail at $150,000 while Kelekolio’s public defender had argued for $5,000. Ultimately, Saxe set bail at $50,000. If he posts bail, Kelekolio must stay away from the Las Vegas Strip and wear an ankle-monitoring bracelet.
