‘No more dances with daddy’: Las Vegas father killed in DUI crash remembered

The day after he was struck by an SUV and killed, bicyclist James “Jimmy” McCoy was supposed to attend the annual daddy-daughter dance at Heckethorn Elementary.

After a prayer service on Feb. 21, McCoy, 62, had left his local mosque riding his e-bike, which his mother, Barbara Leach, said was the man’s primary means of transportation.

That afternoon, police said, Jesus Robles Jr., who “displayed signs of impairment,” was driving an unregistered Chevrolet Tahoe north on Jones Boulevard. When Robles, 49, reached the intersection at Elkhorn Road, he drifted into the bike lane, striking McCoy, separating him from his bike, and knocking him to the ground.

The crash happened roughly 30 minutes before end-of-day pickup at Heckethorn, where McCoy was headed to get his 6- and 8-year-old daughters.

When she picked them up, Leach, who is 86 and has become their primary caretaker, told them that McCoy was “no longer here,” to which the youngest, Yoyo, replied and asked if that meant “no more dances with (her) daddy.”

“I’m just trying to keep everything in their lives — their routines — as normal as possible,” Leach said. “I don’t know how a small child processes something like this or what happens in their mind. Though, every once in a while, they’ll say, ‘Daddy this,’ or they’ll go in his room and say, ‘I wish Daddy was here.’”

Jim kept up

McCoy was adventurous and “deeply dedicated to his children,” family and friends have said.

Leach said her son had previously lived in China, where he had his daughters Yoyo and Lili Wang. He taught English and American History there for ten years before returning to Las Vegas.

Melanie Angeles, who knew McCoy through Heckethorn’s parent-teacher organization, said that Yoyo had recently won an award at school.

Angeles said that when McCoy found out, he was “so proud” and excited. McCoy had planned to celebrate Yoyo’s accomplishment by letting her pick out cupcakes to bring to class, according to Angeles.

“He was an older dad. And because I am also an older parent of a young child, I can say it’s hard to keep up,” Angeles said. “But man, Jim kept up, and he had two kids. I only have one, and it can be overwhelming and exhausting, but he was still here every day. He was never late.”

Bubble release vigil

The family, with help from other parents at Heckethorn, held a bubble release vigil late Friday afternoon to honor McCoy, as well as “the thousands of other DUI fatalities,” in the valley, said Angeles.

About 50 people showed up to the remembrance, which took place at Teton Trails Park, next to the school. According to Angeles, McCoy and other parents would gather every weekday after school to talk and supervise their children who played at the park.

“Their lives are changed forever,” Leach said after the vigil, referring to McCoy’s daughters.

It’s also important to advocate for others who have lost their lives at the hands of drunken drivers, she said.

“This is what people do to each other when they choose to get behind the wheel of a vehicle impaired,” Leach said. “Our laws have to be tougher. Our representatives need to get off their rumps.”

Leach expressed frustration over people who choose to get behind the wheel of a vehicle after drinking or using drugs without insurance, registration or a license.

“This is no accident,” she said. “I don’t know why our society today puts up with it, but we do.”

While speaking at the vigil, Angeles, who knew McCoy through the school’s parent-teacher organization, read a poem. In part, she read, “the world doesn’t expect you to be fine with this. Be how you need to be.”

“He had just gotten a slicer and an air fryer,” Leach said. “He was teaching the girls how to make French fries. He did everything for them. We all miss him.”

The Las Vegas Review-Journal previously reported that Robles was held without bail after his arrest on the day of the crash. Court records show Robles faces charges of driving under the influence resulting in death, reckless driving, failure to maintain travel lanes, and not having proof of insurance.

Last year, which represented one of the deadliest on record, there were 412 traffic-related deaths in Nevada, with the top contributing factors being speeding and impairment, according to the state.

At McCoy’s vigil, Leach and Angeles said each bubble would represent “a beautiful life shattered.”

Contact Akiya Dillon at adillon@reviewjournal.com.