LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) – A vigil for 17-year-old Devin Heath brought his family and dozens of friends together on Thursday evening.
Heath was walking across the street Monday night with his friends when police say a speeding pickup truck hit and killed him. At Thursday’s vigil, Heath’s family called for something to be done to crack down on reckless driving, which they say is out of control in the Las Vegas Valley.
“Families are here. Children are here,” Martina Suyat, Heath’s mother, said while surrounded by dozens of her son’s friends. “When I drive on the freeway, I get anxiety, because the drivers even on the freeway are reckless.”
Suyat called specifically for speed bumps and lowered speed limits in residential areas. She described the night her son died, saying that no parent should have to experience what she did.
“To come up to him having done CPR on him, and already knowing he’s gone – there’s no reason for that,” she said tearfully.
Several of Heath’s closest friends also spoke about the 17-year-old.
“When I first heard Devin got his life taken, I didn’t know what to think,” one friend said through tears. “I didn’t want to believe it. That I lost another brother.”
“Devin treated everybody like family,” said another friend. “He treated everyone like a brother and sister.”
Another mother in the crowd pleaded with the other teens at the vigil.
“We should not have to bury our children,” she cried. “So you guys be careful. Don’t put your parents through this.”
Suyat vowed to stop at nothing to curb reckless driving.
“I’m going to do everything to make my son’s name known,” she said. “This is not going to continue on ever again.”
Heath is the 40th person to die on Las Vegas Valley roads this year. Jesus Barraza, 18, is accused of speeding as he hit Heath near Tree Line Dr. and Sahara. According to a police report, another driver who saw the crash estimated that Barraza was driving at around 80 MPH.
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