LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — The sole survivor of last year’s nine-car crash in North Las Vegas joined the city to honor those killed, with a tree planting ceremony Sunday. The ceremony was not just about remembering the lives lost, but also about raising awareness so something like this does not happen again.
“I still hear the screams, the echoes, the cries,” survivor Tiffani May Noel said. “Even my family saw me laying face down in the dirt when this incident happened.”
Nine people were killed, including seven from the Zacharias family when 59-year-old Gary Robinson ran a red light going over 100 miles per hour near Commerce Street and Cheyenne Avenue.
“I think it’s important for us to remember this tragedy, to remember the Zacharias family,” North Las Vegas Councilman, Isaac Barron.
Noel joined the City of North Las Vegas to plant trees in their honor at Craid Ranch Park.
“These are seven innocent lives that were going about their normal day and this horrific accident happened,” North Las Vegas Mayor Pamela Goynes Brown said.
Mayor Brown and Councilman Barron said this is a way to remember their lives and also raise awareness.
“Most fatalities can be attributed to excessive speeding and various forms and inebriation,” Barron said.
Noel said as she continues to deal with the trauma of that day and hopes her efforts will help others be more aware and stay safe on the valley roads.
“I believe we are desensitized and we normalize car crashes as if they are accidents,” Noel said. “It’s not like spilling juice, accidents or car crashes are preventable.”
Noel said Craig Ranch Park was the last place the Zacharias family went before they were killed, which is why the ceremony was held there.