Las Vegas police plead for information for passenger who filmed intentional hit-and-run murder of a retired police chief Andreas Probst – as cops refuse to provide details about 17-year-old driver
Police are appealing for information about a passenger who filmed a sickening video of his friend mowing down a retired police chief while biking down a Las Vegas freeway.
The 17-year-old driver was charged with murder after fatally crashing his 2016 Hyundai Elantra into 64-year-old Andreas Probst in the city’s northwest on August 14.
The driver was arrested shortly after the accident and taken to the juvenile detention center, but over a month later his passenger, who filmed the horrific incident and prompted him to attack Probst, is still on the run.
The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department said it is still “actively working to identify the passenger in the car.”
The department did not immediately respond to requests for information about the 17-year-old driver, who was previously said not to be named because of his age despite being charged with murder.
Andreas Probst (pictured surrounded by his family) was fatally struck by a teenage driver in an intentional collision in Las Vegas on August 14. More than a month later, police are still searching for the passenger who filmed the sickening attack and urged the driver
Probst, 64, was fatally struck on August 14 while cycling in northwest Las Vegas. Newly surfaced video shows he was deliberately killed by the teenage driver
On Saturday, a video circulated widely on social media and provoked outraged reactions, showing the driver asking: “Ready?” and the passenger, who was filming, laughs as he replies: ‘Yes, press his butt**.’
A visual analysis of the video by DailyMail.com confirms that it shows the same location where Probst was killed, on a stretch of North Tenaya Way, near West Centennial Parkway.
The fatal collision occurred around 6 a.m. while Probst was on his morning commute.
Police say a 2016 Hyundai Elantra struck him from behind and fled the scene at a high rate of speed. Probst was rushed to University Medical Center, where he was confirmed dead.
The suspected driver was arrested later that same day and police say he was linked to the theft of several other vehicles that morning.
Probst had a 35-year career in law enforcement in California, including as police chief of Bell, an unincorporated city in Los Angeles County.
He retired in 2009 and moved to Las Vegas, where he worked a remote job for a security consulting firm, and took up cycling to stay in shape.
His daughter, Taylor Probst, told the newspaper Review Journal she received an alert from her father’s Apple Watch indicating it had fallen on the morning of August 14.
The 17-year-old driver (left) was arrested shortly after the accident and is charged with murder. Nothing was said about the cost to the passenger (right)
Probst retired to Nevada after stepping down as police chief of Bell, California, in 2009
“He really was like a ray of sunshine that flowed through your life,” said Probst’s daughter Taylor, seen with her mother Crystal at a memorial vigil at the crash site.
On September 7, community members gathered at the site of the fatal accident to honor Probst with Ghost Bike, a permanently installed bicycle painted white to mark the point of impact.
She rushed with her mother, Crystal, to the scene of the accident, which was just three miles from their home.
By the time they arrived, Probst had already been taken to a hospital, but the signs he left behind were grim.
“I also came from law enforcement when I was younger,” Crystal told the newspaper. “I was able to determine that his bike is over there, his helmet is over there, his phone is over there. I’m like, this isn’t good.’
On September 7, community members gathered at the site of the fatal crash to honor Probst with Ghost Bike, a permanently installed bicycle painted white to mark the point of impact.
Officers from multiple local jurisdictions were also present to pay respects.
Mourners join Probst’s family at the site where he was killed in Northwest Vegas
“He was a wonderful man, a husband,” Andreas’ wife Crystal said at the memorial KLAS-TV. ‘A father, a brother.’
“He was honestly like a ray of sunshine flowing through your life,” daughter Taylor said.
Last year, 14 cyclists were killed on the roads of Clark County, which includes Las Vegas, along with 72 pedestrians who were fatally struck, according to state data.
According to the most recent data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 966 cyclists were killed in traffic crashes nationwide in 2021, the highest number in 40 years.