Dad of toddler girls killed in NLV crash: ‘They were beautiful’
The grieving father of two girls killed in a horrific crash in North Las Vegas is struggling to make sense of his overwhelming loss.
“My girls were beautiful, smart girls,” said Tavon Wilmer, 22. “They were beautiful. This is something that should never have happened.”
Wilmer’s daughters Taylor, 3, and Rose, 2, were killed Sunday night when a Honda van driven by a woman in her 20s crashed on Scott Robinson Boulevard north of Lone Mountain Road.
Police have not identified the driver or the adult passenger but have said that the driver was a woman in her 20s who was a family member to both girls. Both adults were taken to University Medical Center. They were initially said to be in serious condition.
Tavon Wilmer declined to identify the driver or passenger.
Taylor Wilmer died at the scene. Rose Wilmer was taken to University Medical Center, where she died in the early hours of Monday morning, the Clark County Office of the Coroner said.
North Las Vegas Police spokesperson Officer Alexander Cuevas said Monday the girls were not in age-appropriate car seats but were instead wearing adult seat belts. He said the driver is suspected of being impaired.
No charges had been announced as of Wednesday morning.
On Monday, still-shocked eyewitnesses said a woman who appeared to be impaired emerged from the wreck. The scene they saw was gruesome.
Eyewitnesses Anthony Herring, 67, Kristian Rogers, 14, Isaac Garcia and Davis Mallory all saw the carnage after the crash. Garcia said he saw one of the women involved in the wreck holding one of the girls, who was obviously dead, in her arms. She then dropped the girl on the ground and stumbled over the body, he said. Rogers and Herring gave similar accounts.
Wilmer, speaking from Michigan, where he had moved a few months ago, said he was not doing well but that he had family members supporting him.
“I gave them the world, and they were always bright, they were always happy,” Wilmer said. “Whenever I was down, whenever I was sad, they would be there for me.”
Wilmer, who also shared photos of his daughters, said he did not want to talk too much because he was mourning.
The crash was still under investigation, police have said.
Contact Brett Clarkson at bclarkson@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BrettClarkson_ on Twitter.
