NORTH LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — A 75-year-old truck driver killed in a fiery crash near the North Las Vegas Airport on Thursday is being remembered by his family as a loving father and former motocross racer.
Terry Bilton was at the end of his shift and preparing to turn in to an industrial lot near Simmons Street and Carey Avenue to wait for his son when the crash occurred. Police said a speeding driver crashed into Bilton's semi-truck, causing both vehicles to burst into flames. Both drivers died at the scene.
Jhovani Carrillo hears from Terry Bilton's daughter about his legacy as a loving father and former motocross racer:
Burn marks from the collision were still visible on the road on Tuesday.
"We are in shock, and we are devastated," Cheyenne Reyes said.
Reyes, Bilton's daughter, was in Wyoming on the day of the crash. She was on the phone with her niece when she learned her father had died.
"She ran through the caution tape, and I heard her screaming, 'That's my grandpa!'" Reyes said.
Video shared with Channel 13 shows the scene of the crash:
The fire was so severe that Reyes says a DNA test is needed to officially identify her father's remains.
"I have to take a DNA test just to identify my father. That, in itself, is just unfathomable," Reyes said."I just feel like I am in a nightmare. I feel like life is not real right now. I can't feel that he's gone. To me, in my heart, he still feels so alive, and I am still coping with that."
Reyes says Bilton was an avid dirt bike racer who made a name for himself in the 1970s and 1980s.
"He was so proud of it. He raced in some of the first motocross races. He has what is called a 'hot shoe' in the Hot Shoe Hall of Fame down on Fremont Street," Reyes said.
Despite his racing achievements, Bilton's greatest love was his wife and family. The couple was preparing to retire in Big Bear.
"They were looking forward to it and were already looking for homes, and this is just a stick in the bicycle wheel, to say the least," Reyes said.
The family has launched a GoFundMe to help cover funeral expenses and other financial hardships.
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