Hundreds of people came together in a Las Vegas community on Tuesday night to pay tribute to a teenager who was tragically killed the night before.
According to accident reports, Akadian Frankopoulos, 14, was struck by a car driven by Crystal Helm near Tropicana and Nellis. She did not stop at the scene.
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The vigil took place at the East Las Vegas intersection and people placed flowers and candles at the roadside.
Frankopoulos’ mother Daisy Gallo said all her son ever wanted was to play basketball.
She said he had big dreams and he played hoops at local charter school SLAM Nevada. Gallo said the boy was loved by his team and classmates and he had lots of energy on and off the court.
Gallo said Frankopoulos went to a park to play basketball on Monday night. As he was about to cross Tropicana at Morris Street on his way home, he told her he was almost there.
Three minutes later, the car struck him.
Metro Police say the teenager was using the marked crosswalk.
Helm originally told police car problems prevented her from stopping. However, she later said she was scared.
Those who attended Tuesday night’s vigil called for improvements to the area with Gallo asking for better lighting on the street.
She said she didn’t want other families to experience the same grief.
Accident reports say a GoFundMe page has been set up to help Frankopoulos’ family with his funeral expenses.
In cases like this, some families file a wrongful death lawsuit with help from a car accident lawyer.
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The articles published contain sensitive subject matter that may be hard to read by some. We understand that losing a loved one is hard and devastating. Safety Watch’s decision to share the stories is to help others who may be facing the same situations by providing appropriate resources to the general public.