Report: Mom was driving 121 mph in Las Vegas crash that killed baby
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LAS VEGAS (KVVU) — The arrest report for a driver in a deadly high-speed crash on Sunday showed she was driving at 121 mph at the time of the collision.
Lauren Prescia, 24, faces multiple charges including DUI resulting in death, felony reckless driving and abuse, neglect or endangerment of a child. Her son, 1-year-old Royce Jones, was killed in the crash, according to Prescia’s arrest report.
Just before 7:30 p.m. on July 12, police were called several times regarding a crash at Lake Mead and Rampart boulevards. Some of the callers told police a baby was thrown from the car and showed no signs of life.
Prescia was driving a 2020 Hyundai Sonata, police said. Officers on scene said she had bloodshot eyes and smelled strongly of alcohol. Because she was being treated medically at the scene, officers couldn’t conduct a field sobriety check but her blood was drawn at University Medical Center.
The investigation showed Prescia was driving northbound on Rampart approaching Lake Mead. At the intersection, she hit a 2011 Nissan Sentra. Because of the force of the crash, the entire right side of the Hyundai was “sheered from the vehicle,” police said.
Data from the car later showed five seconds before the crash, she drove at 120 mph with the throttle at 100%. Police said 2.5 seconds before the crash, the vehicle reached a max speed of 121 mph.
The report said a forward-facing child seat was secured in the right rear passenger seat of the Hyundai holding Jones. In the crash, Jones suffered severe trauma to his head. A Clark County Coroner’s investigator pronounced the baby dead at 1:10 a.m. on July 13.
A man at the scene identified himself as the baby’s father. He told police he was in the process of a custody exchange with Prescia and that he was talking to her as he was driving north on Rampart.
He told police Prescia said she would beat him home, then began speeding. He said she passed him at Rampart and Summerlin Parkway and he allegedly told her to slow down because their son was in her car.
While trying to change lanes, he said he saw her car hit the other. At the time, he told police he was driving 60 mph and she was driving at least 80.
The father told police he ran out to his son, who was still in his car seat, and saw Prescia leave her car on her own.
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