May 26, 2026 - 10:56 am

A driver who critically injured the Las Vegas Review-Journal’s photo director in a hit-and-run crash could receive probation.

Eric McDaniels, 37, pleaded guilty Thursday to a felony count of reckless driving resulting in substantial bodily harm.

In exchange for his plea, prosecutors agreed not to oppose probation or McDaniels being released after entering his plea.

McDaniels was arrested in late April, nearly a week after he critically injured Sam Morris, a longtime photojournalist and avid cyclist.

At the time of the crash, Morris was riding his bike at 7:30 a.m. in the 3200 block of East St. Louis Avenue near Fremont Street.

Metropolitan Police Department Capt. Jarvis Dudley has said that witnesses reported that a road-rage incident led to the crash and that Morris and McDaniels “exchanged words” before McDaniels cut Morris off, causing Morris to hit the back of his car.

Morris suffered significant head trauma and was taken to University Medical Center. He has since been released.

Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson said prosecutors did the best they could and believed the resolution of McDaniels’ case was justified based on mitigating factors.

“We entered into this plea agreement to get a measure of justice that we felt was appropriate under the circumstances,” he said.

Video showed Morris was in a verbal altercation with McDaniels and threw something at the defendant’s car, Wolfson said.

Police said Morris “made a hand gesture” to McDaniels and threw a plastic water bottle at his car before the collision.

McDaniels was stopped by police, who spotted his car, and told them that “he was en route to drop off his child at school when he drove around a bicyclist, which caused the bicyclist to become upset and display his middle finger,” according to Metro.

McDaniels, who did not appear to be driving very fast, slowed down and Morris hit the vehicle, Wolfson said.

“It wasn’t like a typical road rage incident where the defendant is the aggressive driver who drives into somebody,” the district attorney said. “In this case, Sam tragically, again, crashed his bicycle into the back of the defendant’s vehicle.”

He added: “We’re not even sure if we could prove that the defendant acted recklessly and in part because of Sam’s participation, if you will, in the behavior leading up to the incident, we took that all into consideration.”

If McDaniels can complete probation without violating the terms, he could withdraw his plea to the felony charge and plead guilty to misdemeanor reckless driving instead.

District Judge Crystal Eller ordered McDaniels’ release, but as of Tuesday morning, Clark County Detention Center records showed that he was still in jail.

McDaniels is scheduled to be sentenced Aug. 20.

Contact Noble Brigham at nbrigham@reviewjournal.com.