LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Emotions ran high inside a Clark County courtroom Tuesday as the mother of 12-year-old Cristofer Suarez confronted the man accused of taking her son’s life.
WATCH | A mother's message to the man accused of taking her son's life
Cristofer was walking to class at J.D. Smith Middle School on Friday morning when police say he was struck and killed by an impaired driver. The crash has sparked outrage across the community and renewed calls for safer streets near school zones.
A Community in Mourning
Dozens of neighbors, students, and parents gathered outside Cristofer’s school for a vigil on Tuesday morning holding candles and posters demanding accountability. The rally turned into a call for change, as residents pleaded for improved safety measures to protect children walking to school.
Inside the Courtroom
Just hours after the vigil, the suspect, 27-year-old Oh’Ryan Brooks, faced a Clark County judge on multiple felony charges, including DUI resulting in death, reckless driving, and failing to stop at the scene of a crash.
According to investigators, Brooks was driving a white Mitsubishi Outlander eastbound on Owens Avenue around 7:30 a.m. Friday when he hit Cristofer, who had just stepped off the curb inside an active school zone. Police say Brooks kept driving, leaving the child critically injured and impaled on a nearby fence.
Officers later tracked the SUV to a nearby apartment complex, where Brooks admitted to being behind the wheel. He allegedly told police he had vaped THC that morning and again before officers arrived because, in his words, he “knew he was going to jail.”
A Mother’s Pain
Cristofer’s mother, Martina Suarez, broke down outside the courtroom, shouting at the man accused of killing her son. Through tears, she vowed her son would not be forgotten.
“He’s never going to have peace. I’m not going to have peace… and I don’t care how that sounds,” she said. “I’m done crying.”
Martina described Cristofer as a bright, kind-hearted boy who dreamed of helping others. His final wish, she said, was to be an organ donor, something the family is now preparing to fulfill.
“When I’m trying to figure out the next steps for my son to donate his organs, and this person is just sitting there like it’s nothing… that should tell you everything,” she said.
During Tuesday’s court appearance, Brooks told the judge he understood the new charges against him. Brooks is being held at the Clark County Detention Center on $250,000 bail and is scheduled to return to court for a preliminary hearing on October 21.