Current:Home > NewsWife, daughter of retired police chief killed in cycling hit-and-run speak out -Infinite Edge Learning
Wife, daughter of retired police chief killed in cycling hit-and-run speak out
View
Date:2025-04-16 20:35:41
For grieving widow Crystal Probst, the nightmare began two months ago with an alert sent from her husband’s Apple Watch.
Andy Probst, 64, was out for his morning bike ride on Aug. 14, when the device on his wrist detected a hard fall just blocks from his Las Vegas home. The device called 911 and alerted Crystal, his emergency contact, via text message.
Taylor Probst, Andy’s daughter, told ABC News, “Chopper was out. You could hear sirens in all different directions. And I vividly remember [my mom] turning to me saying, ‘That's for dad. That's for dad.'"
But Crystal and Taylor say they never could have imagined what happened to the beloved father and husband.
Probst, a retired police chief for Bell, California, was riding in the designated bike lane when a vehicle slammed into him, according to authorities. Two teenagers face murder charges in the alleged intentional hit-and-run.
“I saw everything, from where the phone was, where half of his helmet was and then where the bike was,” Taylor said.
Initially declared an accident, weeks went by before the shocking video of the alleged hit-and-run surfaced.
MORE: Retired police chief killed in hit-and-run died in 'cold and callous' way: Family
Authorities allege it shows then-17-year-old Jesus Ayala behind the wheel and 16-year-old Jzamir Keys recording the video from the passenger seat as they’re seen side-swiping a car. Police say the teens start laughing while one of them says, “Yeah, yeah, yeah, hit his a--” as the car pulls up behind Probst just before the fatal collision.
Authorities say the video was brought to the attention of law enforcement by a high school student who saw it and alerted their school resource officer.
“I can't think of too many cases I've ever had that -- where you have the audio, the video of what they're thinking and doing before the murder, as they commit the murder and after the murder. And there's just not many cases where you get all three of those,” Lt. Jason Johansson of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department told ABC News.
Taylor says the now-viral video has haunted her since she saw it.
“We're happy that video exists because that's how it got switched over from an accident to a homicide. But we didn't want the entire world seeing it,” Taylor said.
Ayala, now 18, and Keys are accused of committing a series of crimes the morning of Aug. 14 -- three car thefts and three hit-and-runs, including the one that killed Probst, authorities said.
Both have been charged as adults with murder with use of a deadly weapon, battery with use of a deadly weapon and attempted murder with use of a deadly weapon. Ayala, who is accused of driving a stolen Hyundai Electra during Probst's alleged hit-and-run, is also charged with leaving the scene of a crash and possession of a stolen vehicle, among other charges.
Ayala and Keys pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Johansson alleges Ayala made statements to law enforcement on body camera footage after the alleged hit-and-run, saying he believed he was going to “get a slap on the wrist” and “be out in 30 days.”
“I think we all know now that probably is not going to be the case," Johansson said.
When asked about their reaction to Ayala’s comments, Taylor and Crystal did not mince words about the alleged killer.
“He’s an entitled little f---,” Crystal said.
“My reaction was, he doesn't, he doesn't even know what's f------ coming. Yeah, he is about to get slapped in the face real hard with reality,” Taylor said.
Meanwhile, the grieving daughter is now facing a future without her father.
“I'll never get to have my dad there, have that, you know, daddy daughter dance, have him give me away or anything like that, and that hurts. That hurts that was robbed from me. And that was robbed from my mom and my brother,” Taylor said through tears.
Crystal still sometimes wears her husband’s shattered watch that first alerted her to the unimaginable tragedy.
"Everybody says, you got to go get it fixed, but I don't know if I want to," Crystal said.
“It’s hard to grieve when you are so angry," she added.
veryGood! (36)
Related
- Could your smelly farts help science?
- Lin Wood, attorney who challenged Trump's 2020 election loss, gives up law license
- Shark attacks, sightings in New York and Florida put swimmers on high alert
- Kate Spade 24-Hour Flash Deal: Get This $280 Crossbody Bag for Just $65
- How to watch the 'Blue Bloods' Season 14 finale: Final episode premiere date, cast
- Blur Pores and Get Makeup That Lasts All Day With a 2-For-1 Deal on Benefit Porefessional Primer
- Crossing the Line: A Scientist’s Road From Neutrality to Activism
- See the Shocking Fight That Caused Teresa Giudice to Walk Out of the RHONJ Reunion
- US wholesale inflation accelerated in November in sign that some price pressures remain elevated
- Walt Nauta, Trump aide indicted in classified documents case, pleads not guilty
Ranking
- The Daily Money: Spending more on holiday travel?
- Kate Spade 24-Hour Flash Deal: Get This $280 Crossbody Bag for Just $65
- Boy, 7, shot and killed during Florida jet ski dispute; grandfather wounded while shielding child
- EPA Rejects Civil Rights Complaint Over Alabama Coal Ash Dump
- From family road trips to travel woes: Americans are navigating skyrocketing holiday costs
- These 20 Secrets About the Jurassic Park Franchise Will Find a Way
- Lupita Nyong'o Brings Fierceness to Tony Awards 2023 With Breastplate Molded From Her Body
- For a City Staring Down the Barrel of a Climate-Driven Flood, A New Study Could be the Smoking Gun
Recommendation
Toyota to invest $922 million to build a new paint facility at its Kentucky complex
5 Seconds of Summer Guitarist Michael Clifford Expecting First Baby With Wife Crystal Leigh
Lily-Rose Depp and Girlfriend 070 Shake Can't Keep Their Hands To Themselves During NYC Outing
Boy, 7, shot and killed during Florida jet ski dispute; grandfather wounded while shielding child
Angelina Jolie nearly fainted making Maria Callas movie: 'My body wasn’t strong enough'
Warming Trends: A Manatee with ‘Trump’ on its Back, a Climate Version of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons and an Arctic Podcast
These 20 Secrets About the Jurassic Park Franchise Will Find a Way
From Kristin Davis to Kim Cattrall, Look Back at Stars' Most Candid Plastic Surgery Confessions