LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — The household of the retired California police chief killed in a hit-and-run two years in the past has filed a wrongful dying lawsuit towards the 2 younger males accused within the crime and the corporate that manufactured the automotive that prosecutors say they stole.
Jesus Ayala, 19; and Jzamir Keys, 18, are accused of deliberately ramming into Andreas “Andy” Probst, 64, killing him on Aug. 14, 2023. Probst was driving a bicycle in a marked lane close to Tenaya Means and Centennial Parkway within the northwest Las Vegas valley. Ayala was driving a stolen Hyundai Elantra with Keys sitting within the passenger seat, prosecutors stated.
It doesn’t seem the 2 males, who had been 18 and 16 on the time, respectively, knew Probst’s former job.
The automotive concerned within the crash, which prosecutors imagine was stolen that morning from an condo, was later discovered ditched close to Craig Street and Jones Boulevard — lower than 10 minutes from the crash website, the 8 Information Now Investigators reported that 12 months.
Police discovered a screwdriver stick in its steering column, paperwork stated.
Ayala and Keys stole the automotive by way of the “TikTok method” or “Kia boys,” the lawsuit alleges, which permits an individual to steal the automobile by way of the steering column, instruments and a USB drive.
“Defendants Ayala and Keys were able to steal the Hyundai Elantra due to a defect or defects in the vehicle that resulted in certain Hyundai and Kia model vehicles to be prone to theft using the TikTok method,” the lawsuit stated.
Attorneys for the Probst household allege the automotive was deemed “defective” on account of Hyundai’s failure “to incorporate all necessary anti-theft devices to prevent it from being started and driven,” the lawsuit stated. As well as, attorneys level to safety controls on key fobs and the steering column itself.
Jesus Ayala, 19; and Jzamir Keys, 18, are accused of deliberately ramming into Andreas “Andy” Probst, 64, killing him on Aug. 14, 2023. (KLAS)
The lawsuit calls for a jury trial and a minimal $15,000 in damages, which is customary in Nevada civil instances.
Representatives for Hyundai didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark. Amid the widespread thefts, the corporate launched an anti-theft software program improve for sure automotive fashions.
A jury trial within the homicide case was scheduled for January. Each Ayala and Keys stay in custody on the Clark County Detention Heart with out bail.
Ayala additionally faces a number of costs in different felony instances, together with theft with a lethal weapon for an incident in 2023 and costs related to a jail struggle in April.
