A Spartanburg County driver who admitted downing 23 beers before fatally striking two children on bicycles was sentenced to 40 years in prison for the crash.
Eri Otoniel Roberto Perez, 31, pleaded guilty in Seventh Judicial Circuit Court in connection with the wreck that killed Dereon James Robinson, 12, and Mikhail-Lee Smith, 9, as the boys rode bikes on a sidewalk. The court imposed a combined 40-year prison term and a $20,000 fine.
Daily Mail reporting detailed how Perez drove a 2016 Honda Accord at high speed while intoxicated, lost control, ran off the roadway, and hit the children on Asheville Highway near Brock Street.
Both boys were taken to Spartanburg Medical Center and later died from their injuries. The crash happened around 12:25 p.m. in April earlier this year, according to the Spartanburg County Sheriff’s Office.
Perez’s blood alcohol concentration measured.264 percent. South Carolina sets the adult limit below.08 percent.
The Seventh Circuit Solicitor’s Office reported that Perez admitted in court to drinking 15 beers the night before the crash and another eight the morning of the accident. Detention center records listed charges of felony DUI resulting in death, driving with no license, and driving with an open container of alcohol.
Circuit Court Judge Daniel Hall left little room for excuses at sentencing.
"There is no excuse. There is no lack of knowledge of the dangers, not only to society, but also the consequences to a defendant if they are drinking and driving."
Solicitor Barry Barnette told FOX Carolina the case cut to the core of parental fear.
"This is a parent’s worst nightmare, when you see children die like this because of someone’s lawlessness and total disregard for those around him."
Nikkita Christopher, mother of Mikhail-Lee Smith, spoke in court about the boy she lost.
"My son was a great child. He was smart, intelligent, humble, a child of God. He loved his family, and he’d do anything for his family. He was my best friend, and I’m lost without him."
Denise Wilson, mother of Dereon Robinson, wrote on Facebook about holding her son and the permanent loss that followed.
"As Dereon Robinson's mother my chest hurts my eyes are heavy my soul is empty holding my son that day, I died with him piece of me i can never and will never get back my son was only 12 he had his whole life ahead of him."
Wilson later added that life has not stopped for the family even as the grief remains.
Perez’s defense attorney told the court the defendant had devastated the families and his own life, and that he prays for them daily and will continue to do so because he must live with the consequences of his decisions.
Following Perez’s arrest, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement filed a detainer. The agency claimed Perez illegally immigrated to Spartanburg County from Mexico, but it did not provide evidence to support that statement.
The guilty plea and the 40-year sentence still stand on the DUI deaths, the unlicensed driving, and the open-container charge. The immigration claim remains an agency assertion without the supporting documentation described in the available court and detention records.
Shortly after the accident, bike safety activist David Matthews held a memorial at the crash site and placed “ghost bikes” to honor both children.
Two boys on a sidewalk never got a second chance. A driver who chose a morning of heavy drinking after a night of the same now faces four decades behind bars, and the families still carry the empty seats at the table.
