August 15, 2026 - 7:30 am

Mariana Rico said her son’s death is almost too recent to feel real.

But two weeks after Roberto Angel Navarro Rico died in an alleged DUI crash in Las Vegas, she said she wants to warn others of drunken driving and getting into a car with someone who is under the influence.

“There’s a lot of options to get home safe,” the mother said. “I just want to get that out there to be safe, be careful with the friends you’re with, and take an Uber.”

On July 31, the 28-year-old got in the backseat of a 2025 Nissan Altima with two friends, Jakari Miles, 22, and Kosmas Sanchez, 23.

Miles drove north on Highland Drive with a blood alcohol content more than twice the legal limit, prosecutors have said.

The car was travelling 56 mph in a 35 mph zone, according to the Metropolitan Police Department. Just south of Edna Avenue at about 9:10 a.m., the car slammed into a legally parked Volvo semi-truck.

Police said Sanchez told investigators the trio had just been at Spearmint Rhino Gentlemen’s Club, 3340 S. Highland Drive, and were headed to the Circa resort at the time.

Miles and Sanchez survived the crash, police said, and Roberto died at the scene.

“Don’t take it as is if a friend tells you, ‘I’m OK, I can drive,’” Mariana Rico said. “If only he knew his friend was drinking that much, which I know he said he wasn’t and that he was OK to drive.”

Miles’ blood alcohol content was between 0.21 percent and 0.20 percent after the crash, according to Clark County prosecutor Dallin Albright. The legal limit in Nevada is 0.08 percent. Miles was charged with DUI and reckless driving causing death. He is due back in court next week.

Mariana Rico remembers her son as a creative and quiet man who loved to draw and spend time with his cousins and his little sister.

“He was very humble, very sweet,” she said. “It’s been a tragedy. I’m just trying to take it day by day. It’s still unreal when I think about it.”

Contact Kalohe Danbara atkdanbara@reviewjournal.com.