‘He had so many friends’: North Las Vegas teen killed in crash remembered
Vanessa Aparicio of North Las Vegas had a message Saturday for drivers on valley roads.
“When you go out on these freeways, on these roads, please make sure you drive safe,” Aparicio said. “Go the speed limit and wear your seat belts.”
Saturday marked a week since her son, 15-year-old Miguel Aparicio-Gaspar, died after a three-vehicle crash just after 6 a.m. on Interstate 11 in the central valley on Sept. 13.
Aparicio made her comments during a fundraiser to help pay for funeral expenses for the teenager Saturday at a Las Vegas business called Killer Sound, which specializes in car audio products and installation.
Known as a “kermes,” the fundraiser — such fundraisers are popular in Mexican culture — featured food and drinks, a raffle for a 55-inch TV, and a car wash. The menu boasted tamales, carne asada nachos, tacos, banana bread and many other favorites.
Aparicio-Gaspar was a high school freshman who liked to ride his mini-bike and cut hair. His mother said he was interested in joining the military once he grew to be old enough.
“It’s been hard for me,” Aparicio said. “I can’t accept the reality of him not being here. Everything happened so fast. It’s unbelievable.”
On a flier at the kermes, Miguel was described as being “vibrant, bright and silly” and a boy who had a “life full of promise.”
Before becoming emotional, Rodrigo Hinojosa-Aparicio, Miguel’s 12-year-old brother, tried to express what his brother meant to him.
“I miss everything about him,” Rodrigo said.
Many of the attendees at the event Saturday were teenagers, some of them Miguel’s cousins. Aparicio, 33, said she’s learned that her son had many more friends than she even knew.
“Miguel was a good kid,” his mother said. “He was never out in the streets doing bad things. He was doing bad in school last year, but he got his grades up so good this year. I’m proud of that. I thought he had maybe two or three good friends, but he had so many friends. He had an effect on people.”
The day before he died, Miguel told his mother he had raised his grade in one class from an F to a B.
“I still haven’t accepted it and I’m still in shock,” Aparicio said. “I feel like I’m still not totally here.”
The Nevada Highway Patrol said, in addition to Miguel, three others were taken to a local hospital with minor, non-life-threatening injuries following the crash, which closed all northbound lanes of I-11, also known as U.S. Highway 95, at Decatur Boulevard for a time on Sept. 13.
“I’ve tried to open up about it, but it’s hard,” Aparicio said. “When I’m alone, that’s when I break down.”
Contact Bryan Horwath at bhorwath@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BryanHorwath on X.