Report: Drunk driver allegedly killed Marine veteran in hit-and-run crash in Las Vegas, then fled US

An accused drunk driver allegedly struck and killed a Marine veteran in Las Vegas before being released on bail and fleeing the United States.

Iurie Trofim, 40, is accused of crashing his Ram 1500 pickup truck into Carson Heath, 55, on Aug. 26. The 55-year-old was riding a Yamaha motorcycle during the accident, which occurred around 11 p.m. near the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area, about 17 miles west of the Las Vegas Strip, according to 8 News Now.

Emergency responders arrived at the crash site and began providing life-saving care to Heath, but the husband, father and Marine Corps veteran was pronounced dead at the scene.

The Nevada Highway Patrol investigated the scene and discovered parts of a Ram 1500, but the pickup was nowhere to be found.

The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department then contacted the Nevada Highway Patrol the next morning about a call they responded to about a crash involving a Ram 1500 about 10 miles from the Strip, KSNV reported.

Police told the outlet that a witness followed the truck after observing it driving on the rim and watched the driver, later revealed to be Trofim, run off the road came off and got stuck.

Trofim was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence and booked into the Clark County Detention Center.

After his arrest, police matched the car parts found at the scene of the accident to Trofim's Ram 1500.

He was subsequently charged with driving under the influence of alcohol/drugs, reckless driving resulting in death, failure to stop during an accident resulting in death, failure to render aid during a vehicle accident, failure to reduce speed or exercise due caution, and failure to drive on the right half of the roadway, according to court documents obtained by KSNV.

The alleged drunk driver then appeared before a “judge pro tempore” – an unelected judge who served as a deputy – on August 28, 8, News Now reported.

The judge placed Trofim on $10,000 bail, required him to wear an alcohol monitoring bracelet and banned him from driving.

According to 8 News Now, Trofim paid a bail bondsman $1,500 to secure his release.

However, during his arraignment on September 3, Trofim was nowhere to be found; instead, a lawyer appeared in court on his behalf and pleaded not guilty.

Prosecutor Yu Meng said in court on Tuesday that Trofim apparently fled the United States after the fatal crash in August and was now back in his native Moldova, about 6,000 miles from Las Vegas.

“We have been trying to find him since last week when we found out he is no longer here,” Meng said.

Trofim has dual citizenship but lived in Las Vegas for a long time before allegedly killing Heath.

Prosecutors later discovered that Trofim allegedly put his Las Vegas home up for sale just days after the hit-and-run.

Court records also show that the alcohol monitoring bracelet Trofim was required to wear by the judge last rang on August 31 at Los Angeles International Airport, according to the outlet.

The device reportedly did not have GPS functionality and could not track his movements.

Moldova does not have an extradition treaty with the United States and the country's constitution “does not permit the extradition of its nationals,” the State Department said.

The Eastern European country's General Prosecutor's Office will process applications for international legal assistance at the pre-trial stage at its own discretion, while the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Moldova will handle the pre-trial and penal phases.

However, there is no record of any recent extradition from Moldova to the United States.

A Las Vegas Justice Court judge issued a warrant for his arrest on Tuesday, the outlet reported.

But Heath's family is outraged that the man who allegedly killed his husband and father while drunk driving is believed to have fled the US.

“How is this person not a flight risk in the eyes of a judge?” Heath's cousin, Paula Donegan, told 8 News Now on Tuesday.