Left: Janiah Gant, left, and Leilani Wigfall (GoFundMe). Right: Triquan Hughes (KLAS).
A Nevada man weaving in and out of traffic slammed into two sisters who were walking to a store to buy some snacks in the middle of the day, according to cops.
Triquan Hughes, 31, is facing several counts of driving under the influence and reckless driving along with one count of child abuse in the crash that killed 17-year-old Janiah Gant and seriously injured 19-year-old Leilani Wigfall. The crash occurred shortly after 3:30 p.m. on May 3 in North Las Vegas.
Hughes, who had his 10-year-old son in the front seat at the time, was allegedly driving his BMW 112 mph in a 45 mph zone when he entered the intersection and struck a car turning left, local NBC affiliate KSNV reported. He lost control of the car, left the road and hit a cinder-block wall before striking the sisters who were on the sidewalk, according to authorities.
Janiah was pronounced dead at the scene, while her sister spent several weeks in the hospital with bleeding on her brain and suffered several broken bones and lost teeth.
Hughes allegedly showed signs of impairment at the scene and police took him into custody. His next court appearance is set for Aug. 3.
Now the victims” family is dealing with the loss of Janiah and facing a long road to recovery for Wigfall.
“What should have been a normal everyday moment turned into a devastating loss that has left our entire family in shock and heartbreak,” a GoFundMe said. “[Wigfall] will need extensive medical care, including rehabilitation, multiple surgeries, and dental reconstruction after losing all of her teeth in the accident.”
Wigfall is now out of the hospital, using the memory of her sister as inspiration. She told local CBS affiliate KLAS that she does not remember the crash.
“For me, it seemed like I just went to bed from coming home from a trip, and I just woke up in the hospital. Even waking up in the hospital, I didn’t know what I was in there for. Like I didn’t feel anything, I didn’t feel weird or anything,” Wigfall said.
She wanted to get home from the hospital to help her grieving mother.
“I did see my mom really sad, and it’s an instinct for me to help her feel better. I was like, ‘It’s okay. I’m here. I’m grooving. My sister is in Heaven, she’s chilling with God. She’s not in pain or anything like that,’ so it was just like, how can I make this more lightened?” Wigfall said.
Her mother, Angela Anderson, said she still texts Janiah’s phone every day.
“I miss her, I miss her so much. It’s still unreal. I’ve accepted it. I just can’t believe it,” Anderson said. “Anytime I see a kid not paying attention or anything, it’s a mission for me to stop and say, ‘Hey, pay attention. Hey, be careful. Sometimes grown-ups don’t pay attention. Your mommy and daddy want to see you come home every day.'”
Hughes is in the Las Vegas Detention Center on a $1 million bond.
