LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Safety on Nevada's roads is a priority for law enforcement in the new year, and starting Jan. 1, a new law goes into effect that aims to reduce deadly crashes by implementing stricter penalties for DUI offenses resulting in death.
Martina Suarez says Christmas wasn't as bright this year for her and her family because the light her son would bring into every room he walked into is now a dimly lit candle on a sidewalk.
Hear from Martina Suarez about the loss of her son Cristofer and her reaction to stricter DUI penalties:
"He was very loved," Suarez said. "He had a lot of dreams."
12-year-old Cristofer Suarez was walking to class at J.D. Smith Middle School the morning of Oct. 3 when police say he was hit and killed by an impaired driver.
The suspect, 27-year-old Oh'Ryan Brooks, told officers when he was arrested that he had vaped THC that morning. He faces multiple felony charges, including DUI resulting in death, reckless driving and failing to stop at the scene of a crash.
"I waited two months to see remorse, for him to look sorry, to be sorry to anything," Suarez said.
According to the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, as of Dec. 21, they've investigated 159 deadly crashes. Forty were attributed to DUIs, compared to 69 deadly DUI crashes in 2024. But many say 40 is still too many deaths.
While Brooks sits in jail awaiting trial, a new law enforcing stricter penalties for impaired drivers will go into effect Jan. 1.
Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson discusses enhanced DUI penalties with Channel 13 senior political reporter Steve Sebelius:
Under the new law, if a DUI violation causes death, and the offender doesn't have any previous convictions, the minimum sentence would be two years' incarceration, with a maximum of 25 years and a fine of $2,000 to $5,000.
If the offender has one or two convictions, the minimum sentence is increased to five years.
Suarez says it's a step in the right direction, but for her, it still doesn't send a strong enough message.
"I would like to say that it's an improvement, but it's nothing. Ten years should be the minimum," Suarez said. "My son was not out running the streets. He was going to school. He was going to school."
Suarez says nothing will bring her son back, but she hopes stricter penalties will deter others from getting behind the wheel under the influence and possibly taking another life.
BEHIND THE DUI: Steve Sebelius shares an inside look at the team responsible for bringing drivers to justice
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