Courtesy photo
Elementary school teacher Tricia Young, 47, was killed in a car accident in northeast Las Vegas on May 23, 2021. She is survived by six children and seven grandchildren.
Tuesday, May 25, 2021 | 8:21 p.m.
A Las Vegas elementary school teacher killed Sunday in a car crash in northeast Las Vegas is being remember as someone who advocated for her students.
Tricia Young, 47, took pride in helping many Latino children become more familiar with English, her son Dominic Young said. She treated the students as if they were one of her six children and seven grandchildren.
“My mom was super patient and never made them feel like they couldn’t do it. They said she is the reason why they learned English,” he said.
The driver of a sedan ran a four-way stop at East Bonanza Road and North Fogg Street and collided into the left side of Young’s Honda Civic, police said. Emergency medical personnel took Young to University Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead, police said. Another son Kaidence Young, 18, who was a passenger in her vehicle, received minor injuries. The condition of the driver of the sedan is unknown.
“We were in disbelief. I thought since they were bringing her to the hospital, there was hope, but she died upon impact,” said Dominic Young, who rushed to the crime scene to see his mother’s crushed car.
Tricia Young spent nearly 20 years in the Clark County School District, most recently teaching first grade at Watson Elementary School in North Las Vegas. She also took odd jobs to support her family.
“You don’t realize what people do until they’re gone. Even with all of us trying to help put the pieces back together, it’s so hard,” Dominic Young said.
Daughter Shaniece Young, 25, was waiting for her mother to return so they could go to lunch. But Kaidence Young called to inform her of the tragedy. She arrived at the crime scene to find her mom unconscious and emergency personnel trying to rescue her from the vehicle. They cut the door off the car, she said.
Tricia Young moved to Las Vegas from Spokane, Wash., as a teenager and graduated from Eldorado High School and UNLV.
She recently fulfilled a lifelong goal by becoming a homeowner and was in the process of renovating the property. Dominic Young helped his mom fix the hinges on their garage door on the day of the accident.
“She had always rented before. It was a huge goal of hers to have a home her loved ones could come to no matter what and she could pass it on to them,” Dominic Young said. “Since my mom works so hard, that was such a huge part of her life, this house, we want to keep it and we are trying to see what we can do.”
Tricia Young had a dog, Katniss, named after a character from "Hunger Games." She always had Christian music playing in her car and loved hockey. She was thrilled when her best friend bought her expensive tickets to a Knights game early this month, Shaniece Young said.
Tricia Young divorced twice, but hoped love would come again.
“She would always talk to me about how God would send her the right one eventually,” Dominic Young said.
