Las Vegas nail salon manager killed in dispute over $35 manicure bill

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Dec. 31, 2018 / 5:25 PM GMT

By David K. Li

A nail salon manager was run over and killed in Las Vegas while chasing a customer skipping out on a $35 manicure bill, authorities said.

The suspect, whose credit card was declined, tried to drive away from Crystal Nails on Flamingo Road at 3:30 p.m. PT (6:30 p.m. ET) on Saturday as Ngoc Nguyen moved to catch her, witnesses and police told NBC affiliate KSNV.

“My wife ran out and tried to stop her, and then she rolled forward,” Sonny Chung, the longtime boyfriend and the store’s co-manager told the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

Nguyen, 51, was rushed to University Medical Center of Southern Nevada and pronounced dead at 4:40 p.m. PT (7:40 p.m. ET), a Clark County coroner’s rep said Monday. Nguyen was killed by “multiple blunt force injuries” and her death was classified as a homicide, the coroner said.

Crystal Nails and Spa on Flamingo Road in Las Vegas, Nevada.Google

The suspect was driving a black Chevrolet Camaro, which police later said was reported stolen from a rental agency three weeks ago, the Review-Journal reported.

“I tried to hold the car back but I’m not Superman,” a tearful Chung said. “She ran off for $35 and killed my wife — $35 to run my wife over.”

The stolen car was found at a nearby apartment complex on Saturday night.

“We do not believe the person who originally rented the car is the suspect,” Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Lt. Ray Spencer told the newspaper.

Nguyen is survived by three daughters, 20, 25 and 28 and two grandchildren, 4 and 6, the family said.