Left inset: Mark Clayton (KSNV). Right inset: Eric Estrada (GoFundMe). Background: Surveillance footage allegedly shows Mark Clayton driving drunk in a stolen RV just seconds before he slammed into 17-year-old Eric Estrada, who was in a marked crosswalk (KSNV/YouTube).
In a tragic incident in Nevada, a teenager sent a text message to his sister saying, “I’m on the way,” shortly before he was fatally struck by a stolen RV. The vehicle was driven by an intoxicated man who allegedly left the scene without offering any assistance, local authorities and family members report.
Azalia Estrada, the sister of 17-year-old Eric Estrada, shared with NBC affiliate KSNV that her brother had texted her at 5:41 p.m. to say he was heading to her home. “Boom, at six they get a call that he’s no longer here,” she recounted somberly.
Eric, a Las Vegas resident, was crossing a marked crosswalk at the intersection of Lake Mead Boulevard and Lamont Street when 55-year-old Mark Clayton struck him with the stolen RV at approximately 5:48 p.m. Clayton then fled the scene, according to a press release from the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department.
The location of the crosswalk is notably close to three schools: Sandy Searles Miller Academy, Lynch Elementary School, and Monaco Middle School, raising concerns about pedestrian safety in the area.
Police reports indicate that Clayton was driving a 1996 Fleetwood Pace Arrow Motor Home eastbound on Lake Mead Boulevard when he failed to yield to Eric, who was legally crossing at the time. Surveillance footage captured the RV approaching the intersection mere seconds before the tragic collision, as reported by KSNV.
“The front of the Fleetwood struck the pedestrian, projecting him eastward and onto the roadway,” the police release stated, condemning Clayton for fleeing the scene without providing aid or calling emergency services.
Azalia Estrada told KSNV, “My brother did not deserve this. My brother deserves justice.”
Clayton was “later located and showed signs of impairment,” according to police. He was booked on DUI and hit-and-run charges, with a bag of meth also being found inside the RV he was driving, according to KSNV.
Clayton is being held without bail.
“Left him in the street without even checking if he was okay,” a GoFundMe for Eric’s family says. “Eric was a wonderful kid and a loving brother,” the description adds. “No one deserves to die like this, and our family is devastated by this sudden loss.”
