LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — A Las Vegas household made an emotional plea to state lawmakers on Tuesday, telling the story of 3-year-old Jaya Brooks, who was killed in a crash involving a wrong-way driver in December 2023.
The woman’s father, her grandmother, Assemblymember Brian Hibbetts and a number of other legislation enforcement representatives wiped tears away as they urged passage of Meeting Invoice 111 (AB111), which might restore felony penalties for wrong-way drivers on divided highways.
“I think this is one we got wrong. We hear all about wrong-way driving on the news,” Hibbetts mentioned, presenting the invoice he’s sponsoring. AB111, now often called “Jaya’s Law,” would make it a misdemeanor simply two years after plenty of site visitors offenses had been decriminalized and was civil infractions.
The horrific crash occurred on Dec. 9, 2023, when a driver within the northwest Las Vegas valley entered U.S. 95 touring south within the northbound lanes, going all the best way from the Kyle Canyon turnoff nearly to the Elkhorn Highway overpass, a distance of two.8 miles. A head-on crash killed Jaya, 63-year-old Karen Foote, and 50-year-old Antonia Apton of Bullhead Metropolis, Arizona, the wrong-way driver.
“I can’t express how much pain I walk around with that’ll never go away,” Jan Brooks, Jaya’s father, mentioned Tuesday in Carson Metropolis.
“Jaya literally won my heart the moment I saw her I always knew she would live her life with a purpose. She was the best thing that had ever happened to me at that time. I won’t get another birthday — another second — to spend with her. She was my perfect person,” he mentioned.
Jan Brooks speaks at Tuesday’s listening to in Carson Metropolis, the place lawmakers listened to a presentation of “Jaya’s Law.” (Courtesy: Nevada State Legislature)
Andrea Raney, Jan’s father and Jaya’s grandmother, mentioned the crash occurred when the household was solely six minutes from house.
“Jaya was a 3-year-old bundle of love and light,” Raney mentioned. “She meant so much to all of us. Karen Foote was a special education teacher and a school psychologist from Sparks. She was visiting family in Las Vegas with her husband, Ray,” she mentioned.
“Jaya and Karen should be here,” Raney mentioned.
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Hibbetts supplied statistics on wrong-way crashes from 2024: The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Division had 634 experiences of wrong-way drivers that 12 months. Nevada State Police Freeway Patrol had 731. Statewide, 123 wrong-way crashes had been reported and 49 folks died.
A consultant of Metro police spoke in assist of AB111, together with the Nevada District Attorneys Affiliation and the Metropolis of Henderson.
“Stricter penalties and laws for wrong-way driving can discourage this dangerous action prompting people to think twice before breaking rules, keeping Nevada’s roads safer,” Raney advised members of the Meeting Judiciary Committee.
