LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Family and friends gathered at Buckskin Basin park Thursday evening to remember Royce Jones, 1, who was killed in a suspected DUI-racing crash involving both of his parents.
About 100 people came to hold candles and balloons to honor the young life that left a lasting impression on so many.
"She comes outside and she's like he peed on me! and there's pee everywhere and Royce is just sitting there with no diaper like you're gonna leave me with her?" shared one family friend during the vigil.
Royce was remembered for his smile, the words he was learning to say, and at times his stubborn personality.
"Usually he likes the water, but on this day he did not want to get in the water, it's like 109 [degrees] on Thursday and we're in the water and I'm like Royce come... I put his life jacket on him and I got him in the water with me and I want him to kick and swim all he did was scream at me; oh my baby was so mad at me," remembered Candice Welcome, Royce's grandmother.
Welcome, like many others, is trying to make sense of the tragic crash.
"He's not coming down the steps anymore, he's not fighting with his aunt, who is four years old, with the toys. It's quiet... it's quiet," said Welcome.
$50K bail set for accused driver in deadly west Las Vegas crash that killed child
Friends and family wrote messages on blue balloons and sent them into the heavens for the little boy they miss so much.
A scuffle among family members broke out immediately following the vigil.
It's unclear what led up to the confrontation.
Royce Jones was killed in a suspected DUI-racing crash on Sunday.
Police say his mother, Lauren Prescia, 23, was driving up to 121 miles per hour near Rampart and Lake Mead boulevards when she hit a series of vehicles and a marquee sign.
The force of the crash tore the 2020 Hyundai she was driving into two pieces.
Prescia survived the crash, was arrested and has made a court appearance.
Royce's father Cameron Jones, spoke with 13 Action News immediately following the crash.
Father speaks out after son was killed in car crash
Investigators currently say, the boy's father, Cameron Hubbard-Jones, has been arrested after video indicates the 2017 Mercedes-Benz he was driving just as fast at the boy's mother's vehicle in the seconds before the crash.
Hubbard-Jones was able to slow down before Prescia slammed into several cars.
Cameron Hubbard-Jones, the father of a child who was killed in a crash over the weekend, failed to appear in court on Thursday morning because of "medical reasons."
Father fails to make court appearance in fatal crash, remains behind bars
He remains behind bars after Judge Joe Bonaventure ordered that Hubbard-Jones be held without bail.
Judge Bonaventure said Hubbard-Jones has "prior convictions for battery resulting in substantial bodily harm." Hubbard-Jones is currently on probation due to those charges.
