Like many older sisters, 20-year-old Azalia Estrada Jimenez has always felt a responsibility to look out for her younger siblings.

That’s what she was doing Saturday evening when she tracked her brother Eric’s location on her cellphone. His plan was to walk from his mother’s place in east Las Vegas to a nearby bus stop to catch a ride to Azalia’s apartment, about 20 minutes away, to hang out and play video games.

“I knew something was wrong when his location wasn’t moving for a long time,” Estrada Jimenez said. “After it had been a good minute, I called my mom and told her that I knew something had happened to Eric.”

Eric, 17, sent a text to his sister to let her know he was on his way at 5:41 p.m. on Saturday.

It would be his final text, as he was struck and killed at Lake Mead Boulevard and North Lamont Street by a suspected DUI driver operating a stolen RV, according to the Metropolitan Police Department.

He was in a marked crosswalk at the time. The loss has left the teenager’s family stricken with grief, Estrada Jimenez said.

As she spoke Thursday afternoon from the intersection where her brother died — where there’s a makeshift memorial with balloons, messages written on a poster board, and candles — she went from tears to expressing her frustrations about dangerous drivers in the area.

“Eric was a good man,” she said. “Nobody knew him as being bad. I want justice for my brother.”

Long Live Eric

A bail hearing took place Thursday morning for Mark Clayton, 65, of Las Vegas, the man accused of driving the RV that killed Estrada Jimenez.

Clayton has been charged with DUI resulting in death, reckless driving, failure to stop at an accident scene, possession of a stolen vehicle, possession of a controlled substance less than 14 grams, and driving with a suspended license.

Clayton failed to remain at the scene after the RV struck Estrada Jimenez, police said, though a woman who witnessed the incident followed it to a nearby parking lot, where police caught up with Clayton.

According to an arrest report, Clayton admitted to using meth before the crash. As of Thursday, Clayton remained an inmate at the Clark County Detention Center.

Following Thursday’s hearing, a preliminary hearing was set for Clayton before Judge Joe Bonaventure on Feb. 26.

It’s likely that whatever punishment Clayton might ultimately receive won’t measure up to what Eric’s family would want.

“If it were up to me, he’d get the death penalty,” she said. “Why should he be able to walk around when we’re out here suffering? To me, he’s a murderer because he took a life.”

As Azalia Estrada Jimenez talked about her brother, a teenage boy from the neighborhood walked past and offered his condolences. He had known Eric, who was a sophomore at Sunrise Mountain High School.

Estrada Jimenez said her brother loved video games — especially Roblox and Minecraft — and enjoyed chips and soda. At the memorial were several bags of Cheetos and several messages that featured “LLE,” which stands for Long Live Eric.

“Eric had a lot of friends,” Estrada Jimenez said. “I have a 10-year-old sister who is disabled. She doesn’t really understand what happened. Eric used to take her on the bus and play with her all the time. He wasn’t out causing trouble, he was just always at home or at my place.”

‘I want them to fix this road’

Estrada Jimenez said she and her family also would like changes for what she described as dangerous roads in the area where Eric was killed, including the intersection of Lake Mead and Lamont.

Just steps from the intersection sits Monaco Middle School, which Eric attended before moving on to Sunrise.

“There should be flashing lights, blinkers, at this intersection,” Estrada Jimenez said. “I want them to fix this road. They’re wanting to wait until 2029, but from now until 2029, another kid or someone else could get killed here.”

The year she mentioned refers to a road improvement project by the Nevada Department of Transportation, which oversees Lake Mead Boulevard, also known as state Route 147, in that area.

In an email to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, NDOT spokeswoman Kelsey McFarland said the department is in the design stages for a project to improve Lake Mead Boulevard in that area.

Construction, she said, is likely to start in the spring of 2029 and the project would include signs for pedestrian crossings with flashing lights.

“Our condolences go out to the family and loved ones affected by this senseless and tragic loss of life,” McFarland said in the email. “We’re currently at the 60% design phase. Design is anticipated to be completed by July 2028.”

At one point, as Estrada Jimenez stood near the intersection where her brother was hit, a vehicle went past while clearly going well over the posted speed limit of 45 mph.

Several minutes later, a vehicle going west on Lake Mead Boulevard nearly struck a car attempting to make a left from Lamont onto Lake Mead.

She said she just doesn’t want another family to suffer like hers is.

“Eric used to hug me so tight when I was sad. He’s not here to do that now,” she said. “I used to hug him a lot and I always said ‘Eric, I love you,’ so I know he left us knowing that.”

Contact Bryan Horwath at bhorwath@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BryanHorwath on X. Review-Journal Staff Reporter Akiya Dillon contributed to this report.

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