Las Vegas vigil honors woman killed in Thanksgiving crash

About a dozen people gathered in southwest Las Vegas on Sunday evening to honor Monique Prado, the 32-year-old single mother of three killed in a suspected DUI crash on Thanksgiving morning.

Glass from the cars crunched under her family’s feet while they decorated a tree at the site of the crash, outside of a 7-Eleven at South Durango Drive and West Russell Road. Relatives brought a large photo of Prado, along with flowers, candles and other decorations to put around the tree.

Prado and her 12-year-old daughter were on their way back from Starbucks on Thursday when they were hit by 27-year-old Nathaniel Postelle III, of Las Vegas, police have said.

Prado was heading south on Durango in a 2013 silver Nissan Sentra when Postelle, heading west on Russell in a silver 2008 Nissan Pathfinder, blew through the intersection and struck her vehicle, police said. Prado died at the scene, and her daughter suffered minor injuries and was taken to University Medical Center.

Postelle suffered minor head injuries and was taken to the county hospital as well.

Postelle is at the Clark County Detention Center on charges of DUI resulting in death and possession of a controlled substance in connection with the crash, according to jail and court records. He made his first court appearance Friday in Las Vegas Justice Court, where a judge set his bail at $250,000.

Norma Kennedy, Prado’s mother, said it took her a few days to be able to visit the scene of the crash.

“It was hard, but her brothers wanted us to get together and do something for her,” Kennedy said.

One of Prado’s brothers, Matthew Munoz, said it was important to get the family together to honor her, in the place where she died.

“We’re not OK. This isn’t OK. There’s nothing good about this,” he said. “But we’re here for each other, and I think that through all that, with us being pulled closer, it’ll help us individually heal from it, eventually.”

He explained that his aunt and cousin drove from Arizona through the weekend storms, stuck in traffic for over 10 hours to help support the family. Munoz said that support, as well as the support from the community, has been key to their healing.

The family created a GoFundMe page to raise money for Prado’s children. As of Sunday evening, $16,493 had been raised toward a $25,000 goal.

Munoz said Sunday night’s vigil was important to him and his brother, because it helped them come to terms with their loss. Since Prado lived in California, Munoz said he only really got to see her on holidays.

“I don’t even really remember the last time I saw her,” he said. “And that hurts, because I’ll never see her again.”

Contact Alexis Egeland at aegeland@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0335. Follow @alexis_egeland on Twitter.