Background: A section of West Flamingo Road in Las Vegas, Nevada (Google Maps). Inset: Jeffrey Ryan Diedenhofen (Forever Missed).
A man was crossing a major Las Vegas street when a BMW driver slammed into him, ending his life and ultimately landing the driver in prison.
Stephon Watkins, 37, was initially charged with hit-and-run and reckless driving in connection with the death of 29-year-old Jeffrey Ryan Diedenhofen, according to the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department.
The defendant pleaded guilty last month, however, to failure to stop at the scene of a crash involving death, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported. Watkins was subsequently sentenced this week to four to 12 years in prison.
On May 30, 2025, at about 3:30 a.m., Diedenhofen was crossing West Flamingo Road west of South Las Vegas Boulevard, “outside of a marked or implied crosswalk,” police said. The area is on the Las Vegas Strip, the famous stretch of the city known for its casinos and entertainment.
At the same time, Watkins was driving a 2016 BMW X5 down West Flamingo Road. The SUV smashed into Diedenhofen and continued driving, “failing to come to a stop.”
Medics responded to the scene but “determined that the pedestrian was beyond resuscitation.” Diedenhofen was pronounced dead.
The police department announced in December that Watkins was arrested in Sacramento, California, and brought back to Clark County, Nevada.
As he was sentenced on Monday, Watkins appeared repentant but maintained that “I was trying to make a still-green light,” per the local newspaper. The victim’s father, however, believed that the defendant was traveling at such a fast speed that any attempt to stop or slow down could have saved his son’s life.
“From the video evidence, I believe my son would have escaped injury and still be alive today if Mr. Watkins had braked, just lifted or even maintained his prior, already excessive, speed,” John Diedenhofen said, noting that Watkins appeared to accelerate before the crash, reaching up to 86 mph in a 35 mph zone.
