Woman wails at hearing, apologizes for girl’s death
It was the genuine apology Michelle Terry had been waiting for.
Alice Alava was sitting in the first row of North Las Vegas Municipal Court with her hands covering her face, wailing and in tears.
The 78-year-old Henderson woman pleaded no contest Thursday to five misdemeanor charges for striking three 6-year-old girls as they crossed Camino Eldorado at Bent Arrow Drive on Oct. 21, killing Terry’s daughter, Amelia "Mia" Decker, and severely injuring the others.
"I just wanted to hear her say, ‘I’m sorry,’ a genuine sorry," Terry said after the hearing. "To see her breakdown … that was a sorry as well."
Alava broke down as she listened to eight people, including Terry, testify about how the loss of Mia has forever changed their lives.
Mia’s parents, grandparents, uncles, aunts and sibling talked about the 6-year-old’s smile, her laughter, her singing, her fashion sense and how it was all taken away from them Oct. 21.
The parade of witnesses left nary a dry eye in the court, including Judge Catherine Ramsey.
Mia’s father, Christopher Decker, said he would give up his life for just one moment more with his daughter, his only child. "Life has felt truly like it’s not worth living," Decker said.
Mia’s family repeatedly said they forgave Alava and didn’t want her to spend any time in jail.
Alava then stood before Ramsey and offered, "I don’t know what to say … I’m sorry for any pain I caused these families. I live with it everyday."
Ramsey, who cried throughout the hearing, ordered Alava to pay a $5,000 fine, the maximum allowed under the law, and to surrender her driver’s license for two years. Alava was booked into jail Thursday and released later in the day.
The mother of the other two girls injured in the crash, Christin Mowery, said afterward she appreciated how difficult the hearing must have been for Alava.
"What can you really say? There are no words. I know she feels bad for what she did," Mowery said.
Both Rain Mowery, 6, and her now 6-year-old sister, Alyssa Mowery, were injured in the crash.
Mowery said Alyssa is still recovering from her head injury. While the girl is improving daily in certain aspects, in other ways she has lost ground. Mowery said Alyssa no longer understands what is inappropriate or dangerous.
However, Mowery believes her daughter will make a complete recovery. "I have faith in God," she said.
Alava pleaded no contest to three counts of failure to yield the right of way to a pedestrian in a crosswalk and one count each of unlawfully passing vehicles stopped for a pedestrian in a crosswalk and failure to give full time and attention while driving.
The accident happened as the girls were on their way back from a park when they crossed the busy roadway at a marked crosswalk.
One vehicle stopped for the girls, but the vehicle driven by Alava did not.
Mia died three days later.
North Las Vegas police said that Alava did not brake and that her vehicle carried one child almost 150 feet.
The toxicology report showed that Alava was not impaired. She had no prior traffic accidents on file, according to the DMV.
Meanwhile, Terry is leading an effort to build a traffic light at the intersection where her daughter was killed.
She advised other parents: "Watch your kids. Hug them and tell them you love them all the time. Unfortunately you just never know."
Contact reporter Francis McCabe at fmccabe@ reviewjournal.com or 702-380-1039.
