Community Grieves Mom And Daughter Killed In Crash With Alleged Illegal Drunk Migrant Driver

More than 150 mourners gathered Saturday to remember a New Jersey mother and her 11-year-old daughter who were killed in a head-on crash with an allegedly drunk, illegal immigrant driver, the New York Post reported.

Loved ones of Maria Pleitez, 42, and Dayanara Cortes filled the Lakewood Funeral Home in Howell, where a somber wake was held, the New York Post reported. Many wore custom shirts bearing the pair’s smiling faces.

Drunk illegal Mexican immigrant Raul Luna-Perez, 43, killed a mother and her 11-year-old daughter in New Jersey. Living in Red Bank since early 2023, he remained free despite two DUI arrests (March/April) and a 2023 domestic violence arrest. pic.twitter.com/hwbdVLXCUR

— Kim “Katie” USA (@KimKatieUSA) August 2, 2025

According to the Post, one inconsolable mourner leaned over Pleitez’s open casket, crying out “¿Por qué?” — “Why?” — as sobs echoed through the chapel.

Pleitez had been driving her daughter and a friend to get milkshakes just after 11 p.m. on July 26 when 43-year-old Raul Luna-Perez allegedly slammed into her Nissan Sentra. The crash killed Pleitez instantly and left Dayanara fatally injured. (RELATED: Illegal Migrant Pleads Guilty To Plowing Into Family Jeep, Killing 11-Year-Old)

Luna-Perez, a Mexican national reportedly in the U.S. illegally, has been charged with two counts of vehicular homicide and assault by auto. Additional charges are pending toxicology results. He had previously been arrested twice this spring for DUI in Red Bank, N.J.

“It hurts so much because this man should not have been on the road,” said Maria del Carmen Pleitez, the victim’s niece, the New York Post reported. “She was the head of our family — strong, kind, hardworking.”

Pleitez immigrated from El Salvador 24 years ago and worked in a local promotional goods warehouse, according to the New York Post. Her 16-year-old daughter, who stayed home the night of the crash, is devastated.

“We wake up thinking it’s not real,” her niece said. “It still doesn’t feel real.”