Family, friends honor teacher, mother of 6 after fatal car crash
More than a hundred relatives, friends and co-workers filled the sidewalk of an east Las Vegas intersection late Monday to remember a first grade teacher and mother of six killed in a car crash.
Tricia Young, 47, died at University Medical Center after police said the driver of a Mazda 3 ran a stop sign at East Bonanza Road and Fogg Street, slamming into Young’s Honda Civic, about 2:45 p.m. Sunday.
Her 18-year-old son, Kaidence Young, suffered minor injuries in the crash. The driver of the Mazda was hospitalized with moderate injuries, police said.
During a vigil at the crash site Monday, Young’s children stood together wearing T-shirts with her face on them. Her oldest daughter, Nashae Young, 26, described their mother as a caring, strong woman who gave everything for her children.
“Her laugh was infectious,” Dominic Young, 21, recalled. “When she laughed, everybody laughed.”
The mother and grandmother taught first graders at Watson Elementary School, where she had worked for at least three years, though she had worked in the Clark County School District for at least 18 years.
In a staff bio on the school’s website, she wrote, “I enjoy any activity by the water, playing board games, going to the movies, reading, and spending time with my loved ones.”
Watson Elementary School teachers Cherie Martinez and Dori Lombardi followed Young from Harris Elementary School, where the trio taught for about three years.
Lombardi said Young was heavily involved on campus, including serving as chair of the social committee.
“She just did everything,” Martinez said. “And she loved her kids.”
Best friend Karri Donham, 37, said Young would drive for ride-sharing companies and use her cosmetology degree to ensure she had enough money to support her six children and seven grandchildren. Now, Donham said, Kaidence Young will graduate high school in two weeks without his mother.
The boy limped through Monday’s vigil, with a black eye and a stiff leg from the crash.
“Her son is forever changed,” Donham said.
Young was raised as the youngest of four siblings by devoutly Christian parents on the east side. Several people prayed together and sang “Amazing Grace” at the vigil.
The crash remains under investigation.