Las Vegas Court Official Fled Fatal Crash After Drunk Mission to Buy Lottery Tickets

Posted on: February 4, 2025, 05:31h. 

Last updated on: February 11, 2025, 03:49h.

Philip Conneller @casinoorgphilc Read More

Expertise: Gaming Business, Regulation, Tribal Gaming.

A senior Clark County court employee accused of causing the DUI death of another motorist on Christmas Eve, 2024 drove 90 miles from Las Vegas to Arizona on a drunken mission to buy lottery tickets, according to police.

Michael Doan, 46, is an administrator for the Clark County District Court in Las Vegas. On December 24, he was driving a Ford truck northbound on Highway 91 in Mohave County, Ariz. when police say he crossed the center line and smashed into a car heading southbound.

The crash killed the driver of the southbound vehicle, 63-year-old Donald Thurston, and injured his passenger.

Vodka Bottles

Officers arrived at the crash site to find Doan’s truck “straddling the double yellow center line,” according to the police report. A witness to the crash told police that the driver had run away into the desert.

A search of Doan’s vehicle uncovered his court ID on the front passenger seat, along with three near-empty bottles of Ketel One vodka.

Police found Doan “lying down in the dirt” about 100 yards away from the scene, according to court filings.

While walking, Michael kept asking if he killed the other driver. I advised Michael that the other driver was dead,” a deputy wrote in the arrest report. “Michael asked the same question several more times, and I gave the same answer. While Michael was speaking, I could smell the odor of an alcoholic beverage coming from his breath.”

Doan “repeatedly stated he was sorry and that he wasn’t a bad person,” per the report.

When he was asked where he was headed, Dohan said he had driven from Las Vegas to Arizona to buy lottery tickets. He told police he worked for Clark County District Court and understood his Miranda rights.

‘Lottery Run’

Despite and because of Nevada being America’s gambling capital, it’s one of just five US states that does not have a lottery.

The state legislature is naturally protective of its casino industry and fears a lottery would cannibalize gaming revenues. Casinos contributed over $1.2 billion to state coffers in 2023.

That means Nevadans who want to play the lottery must travel to bordering states (other than gamble-dry Utah) to get their fix.

The defendant has been indicted by Mohave County grand jury on multiple charges, including DUI and manslaughter. The Clark County District Court has placed him on administrative leave.