Hundreds remember NLV crash victim: ‘Tanaga loved everybody’
Mourners packed a North Las Vegas church Monday to remember a man who perished along with eight others in Nevada’s deadliest traffic crash.
Tanaga Miller, 46, of North Las Vegas, was described by loved ones as a caring brother and father who was protective of his family at all times.
“Tanaga loved everybody,” said Miller’s cousin, Charles E. Winston. “He would help anybody. No questions asked.”
Nearly 200 people paid tribute to Miller during the service at the Portals to Glory Church of God in Christ on Comstrock Drive. A burial service followed at Bunkers Eden Vale on Las Vegas Boulevard North, a little more than three weeks after Miller died in a six-vehicle crash at the intersection of Cheyenne Avenue and Commerce Street on Jan. 29.
North Las Vegas police said Miller was a passenger in a Dodge Challenger driven by Gary Dean Robinson, 59, of North Las Vegas, when Robinson ran a red light while driving at a high rate of speed. Robinson also died, as did seven members of the same family who were in a minivan that was struck during the collision. Those victims were Fernando Yeshua Mejia, 5; Adrian Zacarias, 10; Lluvia Daylenn Zacarias, 13; Bryan Axel Zacarias, 15; Gabriel Mejia-Barrera, 23; David Mejia-Barrera, 25; and Jose Zacarias-Caldera, 35.
Miller’s family said previously that they didn’t know Robinson, and it is not entirely clear how Miller ended up in Robinson’s car. They suspected he was simply looking for a ride when he hopped in Robinson’s Challenger.
Family members said Miller had suffered a stroke in September, and he had to quit the two jobs he was working. He couldn’t drive because he had trouble seeing and had lost function in his left arm. He often walked everywhere or relied on others to get places.
During Monday’s service, Pastor Aundrae Hughes and Assistant Pastor Captain Burrell of the Mt. Ararat Baptist Church in North LasVegas urged those in attendance to cherish the time they had with Miller.
“This place is full today and we are going to celebrate,” Burrell told mourners.
Miller’s sister, LaShonda Warfield, spoke to the mourners as well, reiterating that her late brother was a committed family man.
“I thank God for the time I had with my brother,” Warfield said, adding “he was loved, he loved his family, and we loved him.”
Contact Glenn Puit by email at gpuit@reviewjournal.com. Follow @GlennatRJ on Twitter.