Woman, 78, pleads not guilty in crosswalk crash

A 78-year-old Henderson woman charged in connection with an October car crash that killed a 6-year-old girl and severely injured two others pleaded not guilty Tuesday.

Alice Alava faces five misdemeanor traffic charges in North Las Vegas Municipal Court, including three counts of failure to yield the right of way to a pedestrian in a crosswalk and one count each of unlawfully passing vehicles stopped for a pedestrian in a crosswalk and failure to give full time and attention while driving.

Alava declined to comment after the brief hearing, but her lawyer, Daniel Markoff, said the not-guilty plea was entered so that he could review the evidence in the case.

Markoff said that it was procedure and that he was not trying to delay the resolution of the case, which he said was a tragedy.

"Everybody wants a quick resolution," including Alava, Markoff said. "We're trying to be as expeditious as possible, but you still have to look at this (evidence) first."

He added, "We'll take a look at this case and see where it takes us. ... There are a lot of things you've got to look at before you either resolve the case or go to trial."

During the hearing, Senior Judge Warren Van Landshoot ordered a pretrial conference on Feb. 23, faster than the normal scheduling time of 60 days.

"I want to fast-track this case," the judge said.

A prosecutor did not object and agreed to get the evidence in the case to Markoff quickly.

Alava was accompanied to the hearing by several women. She appeared reserved, dressed in blue jeans, a white sweater and pink scarf.

Amelia "Mia" Decker, 6, was killed after she was struck while crossing Camino Eldorado at Bent Arrow Drive on Oct. 21.

Rain Mowery, 6, and her 5-year-old sister, Alyssa Mowery, were injured in the crash. Both have been released from the hospital.

The girls were on their way back from a park when they crossed the busy roadway at a marked crosswalk. One vehicle stopped for the girls, but the vehicle driven by Alava did not.

Mia died three days later.

North Las Vegas police said that Alava did not brake and that her vehicle carried one child almost 150 feet. The toxicology report showed that Alava was not impaired. She had no prior traffic accidents on file, according to the DMV.

The parents of the victims have said they think what happened was an accident and aren't seeking retribution against Alava. They have said they hope a judge grants Alava leniency.

The charges carry possible jail time and thousands of dollars in fines.

Contact reporter Francis McCabe at fmccabe@ reviewjournal.com or 702-380-1039.