A Nevada Highway Patrol trooper who spotted a stolen exotic car this week in a casino parking garage escaped injury when the fleeing driver rammed his cruiser.
The custom, 1,000-horsepower Dodge Challenger, which is in Las Vegas from Vermont for the SEMA Show, was damaged but no one was injured.
The perpetrator fled the scene and is being sought by authorities.
He was described today as a tall, stocky Hispanic man who sported a red San Francisco 49ers jersey and khaki shorts.
The crash was reported about 11:30 a.m. at the Rio, 3700 W. Flamingo Road.
The gray Challenger was stolen from a trailer in a parking lot at Main Street Station hours earlier.
The trooper identified the vehicle near Interstate 15 and Sahara Avenue, the patrol said.
Afterward, the trooper found it inside the Rio parking garage. “Before the trooper could exit his vehicle, the Challenger rammed it,” the patrol said. The crash was captured on surveillance video.
The car was found abandoned nearby a short time later.
After the crash, cameras caught the perpetrator boarding a public bus near Maryland Parkway and Desert Inn Road, the patrol said. He faces counts of aggressive assault with a deadly weapon on a public officer, felony eluding, possession of a stolen vehicle and burglary.
The suspect also was pictured at another downtown location, inside another stolen vehicle pinched the same night the Challenger was taken, the patrol said. That car also was recovered.
The owner of the Challenger — Quintin Bros. Auto and Performance — was still planning on showcasing it at the car show next week, the patrol said.