Mom in fatal drag racing crash texted about drinking, transcripts show
The mother accused of driving under the influence in a crash that killed her 1-year-old son texted about drinking alcohol in the hours prior to the child’s death, newly released grand jury transcripts show.
Las Vegans Cameron Hubbard-Jones and Lauren Prescia, both 23, were indicted by a Clark County grand jury in the July 12 death of their son, Royce Jones, at the intersection of Rampart and Lake Mead boulevards. Police said the two were drag racing on Rampart, with Prescia driving approximately 120 mph, when her vehicle slammed into a pole. Police said Prescia was driving under the influence of alcohol and had cocaine in her system.
Grand jury documents show police analyzed the pair’s cellphones and found texts between the two in the hours prior to the crash.
“I wanna get drunk play tourist lol at Fashion Show,” Prescia texted Hubbard-Jones.
“I have White Claws,” Prescia texted.
“OK,” Hubbard-Jones responded.
After the crash, Prescia told police she’d had two White Claws. Her blood alcohol content, however, was measured at 0.176, more than twice the legal limit for drivers, according to the court records.
Las Vegas police investigator Kenneth Salisbury said he interviewed Hubbard-Jones after the crash.
“He did tell me that during his phone call with her, she said she was going to beat him home,” Salisbury told the grand jury.
Witnesses told the grand jury they observed Prescia’s 2020 Hyundai traveling at a very high rate of speed down Rampart prior to the crash. In the aftermath, a witness who observed Prescia’s vehicle speeding by his pulled up on the crash. Jose Escobedo said he saw Prescia sitting at the scene, her dead child nearby, prompting him to challenge her.
“When I saw the baby, I said, ‘What are you thinking driving that fast with your child in the car?’” Escobedo said. “And she, you know, in shock, just looked up at me and said like and kind of mumbled, ‘I ran the red light.’”
Hubbard-Jones and Prescia are each charged with second-degree murder, reckless driving and child abuse. Each has pleaded not guilty.
Contact Glenn Puit by email at gpuit@reviewjournal.com. Follow @GlennatRJ on Twitter.
