Driver faces charges in fatal crosswalk accident
If she could, Michele Terry would give her a big hug and say “I’m sorry.”
But Terry wasn’t talking about her daughter, 6-year-old Amelia “Mia” Decker, who was struck by a car last month in a North Las Vegas crosswalk.
She was talking about 78-year-old Alice Alava, the driver who killed her.
“At the beginning I wanted to find every possible thing to do to this lady,” Terry said. “But I’m not angry at her anymore. It was purely an accident.”
North Las Vegas police announced Thursday afternoon that three misdemeanor charges are being recommended against Alava, a Henderson resident who drove the car that killed Mia and severely injured two other girls on Oct. 21 at Camino Eldorado and Bent Arrow Drive.
Mia died three days after the accident.
Six-year-old Rain Mowery was treated for a fractured skull and released from the hospital. Her sister, 5-year-old Alyssa Mowery, remains hospitalized with critical injuries.
Police said Alava did not brake, and her vehicle carried one child almost 150 feet.
She faces three misdemeanors: vehicular manslaughter, failure to stop for a pedestrian in a crosswalk and unlawfully passing vehicles stopped for a pedestrian in a crosswalk.
The toxicology report police had been waiting for showed the woman was not impaired. If Alava had used drugs or alcohol before the crash, she would likely have faced a felony.
“The driver’s actions don’t rise to the level of gross negligence,” police spokeswoman Chrissie Coon said. “But she’ll live with these charges the rest of her life.”
Alava would not be arrested, but would be issued a summons to appear in court, Coon said.
The charges carry a maximum penalty of six months in jail, fines of up to $1,000 per charge and the possibility of suspension of the driver’s license for up to one year, she said.
Police submitted the case to the North Las Vegas Municipal Court.
Investigators also have petitioned the Department of Motor Vehicles to evaluate whether Alava’s license should be revoked, Coon said.
Alava has no prior traffic accidents on file, according to the DMV.
Alava refused to comment.
The woman’s neighbors described her as helpful and kind, calling her a “fantastic neighbor” who is often in her yard tending to her many plants and flowers. An older couple who live across the street said she has several grandchildren and a great-grandchild.
Terry did not speak during the press conference, but waited with her family in the lobby of the North Las Vegas police building on Lake Mead Boulevard.
She said she wanted to console Alava, but has not spoken to her since the night of the accident, when she angrily confronted her at the scene.
Her opinion has softened with time. Terry said Alava’s guilt likely equals her own grief.
“I would just tell her I’m sorry she’s going through what I am,” she said.
The other victims’ mother, Christin Mowery, said she has asked God to comfort the driver and her family.
“I forgave her right away,” Mowery said. “It was an accident. I don’t want her to go to jail. I think the prison she has put herself in is much worse than any prison the police can put her in.”
Mowery said Alyssa is making progress every day and is slowly being weaned off the ventilator. Rain has returned to school and is doing well, but misses her sister and best friend, Mia.
Terry hasn’t become used to life without Mia, she said.
Every morning she expects her daughter to bounce around the corner and sit down for breakfast, she said.
As hard as its been, Terry expects life to get worse before it gets better.
“I’ve had some bad meltdowns,” she said, “and I’m waiting for the big ones to come.”
Christopher Decker, Mia’s father, also spoke after the news conference.
He said he thought the charges were fair, although he hopes a judge would grant Alava leniency.
“I don’t want to see her spend a day in jail if she doesn’t have to,” Decker said. “This is not the time for retribution, this is not the time for retaliation.
“It’s time for everybody to move on with their lives.”
Review-Journal writer Jessica Fryman contributed to this report. Contact reporter Mike Blasky at
mblasky@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0283.
