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LAS VEGAS (AP) — A 20-year-old Las Vegas man pleaded guilty Tuesday to charges that could get him 12 to 40 years in Nevada state prison for driving under the influence of drugs in a crash that killed a 6-year-old girl and her grandmother at a bus stop.
Leonardo Ruesga admitted guilt to two counts of DUI causing death in the March 30 crash near a busy intersection east of downtown Las Vegas. A charge alleging that he fled the scene was dropped.
Clark County District Judge Jennifer Togliatti scheduled sentencing Feb. 16.
Prosecutor Brian Rutledge said blood tests showed Ruesga had marijuana and methamphetamine in his system when the Volvo S60 he was driving jumped a curb, and struck 58-year-old Maria Garcia and her granddaughter, Alyssa Aisa. An 18-month-old girl in a stroller also was hit but escaped serious injury.
"We believe this is a fair sentence for someone who killed two people while driving impaired on drugs," Rutledge said.
Defense attorney Warren Geller called the case a tragedy and said Ruesga had no intention of harming anyone.
Geller also called the plea a fair resolution to the case before trial. He noted his client could have faced 22 to 55 years in prison, and neither side would recommend the maximum or the minimum punishment at sentencing.
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