‘Destroyed my entire life’: Mother mourns NLV student killed by suspected drunken driver

Moments after a court hearing for the driver accused of fatally striking her 12-year-old son, the boy’s mother burst into the courtroom Tuesday, shouting that the defendant was a killer.

“This was homicide, not an accident,” Martina Suarez said after the proceeding. “I want people to know that he killed a child. … I want people to understand that this person destroyed my entire life.”

Her son, Christofer Suarez, had been walking to school near East Owens Avenue and North 21st Street on Friday morning when police said he stepped off the sidewalk to cross the street and was struck by an SUV and thrown into a fence. He spent three days at the University Medical Center and died on Monday.

Suarez was a student at Smith Middle School, located in North Las Vegas, just a short distance from where the crash occurred.

The driver was identified as 27-year-old Oh’Ryan Brooks, who police said fled the scene. Officers traced the vehicle to a nearby apartment complex and arrested Brooks, who police said showed signs of impairment. He was booked on suspicion of driving under the influence and hit-and-run.

Brooks admitted to taking “a few hits” from a THC vape pen, according to a Metropolitan Police Department arrest report. He said he had smoked before driving two children to another nearby school — his destination before the crash — and then smoked again just before officers found him, claiming he did so because “he knew he was going to jail.”

THC, or tetrahydrocannabinol, is the main chemical in marijuana that causes people to feel “high” or intoxicated.

During his field sobriety tests, Brooks swayed from side to side, slurred his words and was unable to maintain his balance, according to the report. Brooks’ blood samples, which the report said were collected at least two hours after the crash, have been submitted to Metro’s laboratory for toxicology testing.

‘I’ll never have peace’

Outside of the courtroom, Martina Suarez said her son was driven, responsible and full of cheesy jokes. The seventh grader was constantly talking about his GPA and played the guitarrón in his school’s mariachi band. He had ambitions to attend an arts magnet school to deepen his passion, Suarez said.

The mother, still wearing a UMC visitors’ pass clipped to her shirt, said that she arrived late to Brooks’ hearing because she had just come from completing paperwork to donate her son’s organs — something the boy had told her he wanted.

She explained that her outburst in court was triggered by seeing Brooks in custody, yawning, and, at one point, smiling.

“I don’t want him to have peace,because I’ll never have peace,” Martina Suarez. “The fact that this person is just sitting there like it’s nothing when I’m trying to figure out the next steps for my son to be able to donate his organs … That should tell you something.”

Not taken seriously

Also on Tuesday morning, Smith Middle School students and parents gathered to demand better safety measures at the intersection where the boy was struck. They carried signs that said “Drive sober, save lives” and “Honk if you stop for kids.”

Volunteer crossing guards with Walk Safely LV, an advocacy group formed after a suspected impaired driver killed Arbor View senior and pedestrian McKenzie Scott, escorted children across the street during the rally, which started at 7:30 a.m.

Krista Holloway said she had been helping near Smith Middle School since Friday. Holloway, who previously advocated for road changes near Arbor View after Scott’s death, said that the junction cannot safely accommodate the heavy traffic that occurs, especially during school drop-off and pick-up times.

“It’s very nerve-wracking for students and parents,” Holloway said.

Parent Priscilla Zarate urged city officials, who she said were invited to the demonstration but didn’t attend, to install a traffic light at East Owens Avenue and North 21st Street. The intersection has a two-way stop and crosswalks, but lacks additional pedestrian safety features.

North Las Vegas spokesperson Kathleen Richardson said that the City Council was “heartbroken” over the crash, but the members who were aware of the event were unable to attend. Richardson said that in the past year, all signage in school zones within the city had been replaced and in the past two years all crosswalks repainted.

Jace Radke, a spokesperson for Las Vegas, said that because Owens Avenue marks the boundary between the two cities, North Las Vegas is in charge of the road markings there. But the upkeep of traffic signals is the responsibility of Las Vegas.

A few months ago, Radke said that Las Vegas approved a proposal to assign crossing guards at all middle schools within the city limits, but the Friday crash happened closer to Rancho High School, which is just a few blocks south of Smith Middle School.

“The intersection at Owens Avenue and 21st Street is being reviewed, and the city of Las Vegas is working closely with the city of North Las Vegas and the Clark County School District to identify both short-term and long-term options for improvement,” Radke said.

‘We need everyone’s help’

Late Tuesday morning, Clark County School District Superintendent Jhone Ebert discussed Christofer’s death and that of another middle school student, 12-year-old Haylee Ryan, who also died this week.

Ebert said school district police have identified 84 students who have been hit by cars since the start of the school year on Aug. 11. That’s more than double the 39 students struck by cars that were logged this time last year, she said.

School district Police Chief Mike Blackeye called on drivers to be more cautious in school zones to prevent similar crashes in the future.

“It’s just up to all of us to be responsible drivers. Slow down, pay attention, get off your phone because kids are around,” Blackeye said.

The school district established a Traffic Safety Working Group in August to develop a plan to improve traffic infrastructure and enforcement. The group is expected to have a plan by spring 2027, Ebert previously said.

Contact Akiya Dillon at adillon@reviewjournal.com. Video journalist Cynthia Puga and reporter Spencer Levering also contributed to this report.