Weeping relatives, friends gather at wake to remember NJ mom and daughter killed in head-on crash with illegal migrant
Sobbing and weeping relatives and friends — many of them, donning shirts with images of Maria Pleitez and little Dayanara Cortes' beaming faces — lined up outside the Lakewood Funeral Home in Howell to pay their respects at a somber wake.
At one point, a mourner who'd been crying uncontrollably leaned over the 42-year-old mother's open casket, and repeated the phrases '¡Qué fuerte!' ('How terrible' in English) and 'Porque?,' the Spanish word for 'Why?,' over and over again.
Advertisement
3 Over 150 people gathered at the Lakewood Funeral Home in Howell, New Jersey, to pay their respects to remember the mother and her 11-year-old daughter, tragically killed in a head-on crash.
Leonardo Munoz
Among those grieving the two devastating deaths was Dayanara's father and her friend, also 11, who was injured in the July 26 crash and is recovering.
Pleitez was driving the two girls to a Wawa to get milkshakes at around 11:20 p.m. in Lakewood when Raul Luna-Perez, 43, slammed his Dodge Durango into the mom's Nissan Sentra, according to local prosecutors.
Advertisement
She was killed instantly, and Dayanara, who was sitting in the front passenger seat, died soon after arriving at the hospital.
Luna-Perez was charged with two counts of vehicular homicide and assault by auto.
Charges could be added once prosecutors receive the results of an alcohol blood level test.
3 Maria Pleitez and her daughter Dayanara Cortes were fatally struck by an alleged illegal immigrant, Raul Luna-Perez, 43, who was drunk while driving.
Forevermissed.com
Advertisement
The Mexican immigrant, who was in the US illegally, had been arrested twice this spring for DUI in Red Bank, NJ — something Pleitez's niece bemoaned at the wake.
Maria del Carmen Pleitez told The Post her aunt was a hardworking, cat-loving, doting US citizen who immigrated from El Salvador 24 years ago.
'She was a happy person,' Pleitez, 39, said. 'She would come to a place, or she would come to our homes, and just bring happiness. She was never angry, never sad. She always had the strength to continue going, and that's what hurts, because the guy had two DUIs already.'
3 Family and friends at the wake donned shirts and images of Pleitez and Cortes.
Leonardo Munoz
Advertisement
Maria Pleitez spent years working in the painting department of Superior Promotional Bags, a Toms River promotional products supplier, the niece said.
'She was the head of the family,' Maria del Carmen Pleitez said. 'She was bringing up her two daughters. She had her own apartment, her own place, and she never asked her help for anything. We loved her.'
Pleitez's 16-year-old daughter, who stayed home, is heartbroken, she said.
'It's so hard. We still feel like we can't digest everything. Like, you wake up in the morning, you think it's not true.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Post
2 hours ago
- New York Post
Tortured Ukrainian POW branded with 'Glory to Russia' vows to return to battle
A recently returned Ukrainian prisoner of war — whose Moscow captors medically tortured and branded him with a scar reading 'Glory to Russia' — pledged to rejoin the fight as soon as he recovers from his wounds. Andriy Pereverzev exclusively told The Post from his hospital bed in Ukraine that he would return with vengeance to the battle for his country's freedom against Moscow after suffering macabre and humiliating treatment akin to the maniacal habits of Nazi doctor Joseph 'Angel of Death' Mengele in Russian captivity. 'After I will be healed, I want to go back to protect and fight for the country — and I will join it with more fervor, kind of a thirst for revenge,' he vowed. Advertisement 5 Andriy Pereverzev, a recently released Ukrainian prisoner of war, told The Post he will continue fighting for his country after being tortured and branded by Russians. New York Post 5 Pereverzev was branded with a scar reading 'Glory to Russia' during his time in captivity. New York Post Pereverzev sustained severe injuries to his legs and abdomen when Russians struck him with a grenade ahead of his capture on the frontlines in February 2024. Advertisement He spent the next 11 months undergoing horrific medical procedures in captivity in Russian hospitals before he was sent to a POW camp and eventually traded in a prisoner exchange in May. The Ukrainian soldier said he begged for death instead of capture as Russian forces closed in on him, having heard horror stories of how Moscow treats its prisoners of war. But his soon-to-be captors told him they would receive a financial reward for bringing him back as a POW, so they took him to a prisoner hospital in Russia to receive 'treatment' — which turned out to be a series of macabre procedures conducted on Ukrainian POWs. 5 The 'Slava Russia' scars are a sick twist on the 'Slava Ukraine' battle cry Pereverzev and other soldiers have rallied under during the war. social media; east2west news Advertisement Most medical procedures were done without anesthetics, he said. All were done while Pereverzev was awake, save for a surgery early in his detainment that left his torso heavily bandaged. About two weeks after that procedure, Pereverzev discovered that under the bandages, his Russian surgeon had carved 'Слава России' — Russian for 'Slava Russia,' a bastardization of the Ukrainian battle cry, 'Slava Ukraine' — in block letters on his stomach with a hot scalpel. To the right of the phrase, the surgeon carved a 'Z' — the symbol the Russian military uses to mark its equipment and troops in Ukraine — below Pereverzec's naval. Advertisement 'I asked them, 'Why did you write this?' Why don't you create something special, something [unique to Russia.] There's no original thought,' Pereverzev recalled, referring to the phrase. 'They said, 'It's my order and we are doing our order.'' Pereverzev said the exchange was an example of why Kyiv is fighting so hard against Moscow — it is a fight to keep the Ukrainian people's independence while President Vladimir Putin controls all in Russia. 'I said, so if they order you to hang yourself, what would be your reaction? They said, 'It would mean I need to,'' he explained. 'I said, 'But it's your destiny.' 'In Ukraine, we have freedom. In Russia, they do not.' A love of country His scars remain to this day, though Pereverzev's doctors are giving him injections to reduce them so they can be safely removed once his other wounds are healed, he said. 'I cannot get revenge [on his Russian torturers] personally,' he said. 'In general, what I want is revenge for what the Russians are doing — to push them off the battlefields and stop their missiles from flying through the air. 5 Pereverzev recieves injections to reduce the scarring so they can eventually be removed. social media; east2west news Advertisement 'It is hard for people who have never faced the war to understand, but it's about the civilians who are suffering for nothing because Russians decided to send missiles to target the parents, grandparents and children of Ukraine. They are suffering,' Pereverzev said. He also called for Ukrainians who fled the country after the war broke out to 'come back to fight.' Pereverzev's fervor to get back on the battlefield exemplifies what experts say is a key strength Ukraine has over its aggressor — high morale and commitment to the fight. Advertisement 'Pereverzev's desire to return to the fight after being tortured in Russian captivity is reflective of Ukraine's warrior culture, character and sense of obligation to defend the homeland against barbaric Russian war crimes,' the Atlantic Council's Alex Plitsas told The Post on Monday. 'It's that same warrior culture and spirit that has carried Ukraine through this fight. 'Russia has committed unspeakable crimes, and Ukrainian soldiers I have spoken with have told me that they are fighting to protect their homes and families from the atrocities that Russia has inflicted on their countrymen wherever they have seized Ukrainian territory, to include systemic torture and sexual violence to extrajudicial killings,' he continued. That resolve to continue to fend off Moscow is largely unique to Ukrainians — as studies indicate the majority of Russian soldiers do not understand why Putin continues to order them to their deaths en masse in Ukraine. During The Post's interviews with dozens of Russian POWs in Ukrainian captivity in March, each said their sole motivation to invade Ukraine was financial — not patriotism. Advertisement 5 Pereverzev said he wants to get revenge on the Russians by defeating them on the battlefield. UNITED 24, e2w news 'There was a catastrophic shortage of money. And that is why we have so many soldiers in Russia. They are like me,' one Russian captive said. Institute for the Study of War Russia team lead George Barros on Monday said Ukraine's commitment to its country is a key part of Kyiv's success. Advertisement 'Individual Ukrainians continue to demonstrate exceptional resiliency despite the odds being stacked against them,' he told The Post on Monday. Still, 'bravery and self-sacrifice can only do so much,' he was quick to add. 'Additional weapon sales to Ukraine — at scale — are crucial for empowering such brave individuals while the war continues to rage on into its third, and soon fourth, year.
USA Today
3 hours ago
- USA Today
Richard Jefferson's description of 'professional' Karl Malone omits a key fact
In late July, as the NBA ostensibly moves toward marketing its newest generation of stars, possible future face of the league Victor Wembanyama's social media activity indicated that he may want the league to distance itself from Karl Malone. For those not in the know, Malone allegedly impregnated a 13-year-old child when he was 20, with subsequent blood tests offering a 99.3 percent probability that he was the father. The family of the 13-year-old elected not to press charges. But the NBA's continued public celebration of the Hall of Fame power forward's basketball accomplishments year over year, despite heinous situations and actions like this hanging overhead, suggests the league lacks reasonable sensitivity. With Malone recently back in the spotlight because of his birthday last month, it seems someone forgot to pass along this memo to former NBA forward Richard Jefferson, who probably should have avoided giving him his flowers in a recent episode of the Road Trippin' podcast. While comparing another Hall of Fame power forward, Charles Barkley, Jefferson said he would take Malone over Barkley all-time because of Malone's "level of professionalism." Uh, I have thoughts, but let me gather them up first. You can catch the full context of Jefferson's sentiments at the 50:10 timestamp below. (Warning: NSFW language is involved in this video.) Look, it's not great that Barkley may not have taken his training as seriously as he could have throughout his iconic career. Work ethic-wise, he likely left a lot of meat on the bone with the natural talent he possessed. But any ultimately harmless drinking or partying by Barkley as a player pales in comparison from a professionalism perspective compared to the despicable acts Malone has been accused of at worst, and any other shameless, unethical transgressions at best. In the mid-1980s, the grandparents of Demetress Bell (the child of the 13-year-old Malone allegedly impregnated) sued Malone for weekly $200 payments in child support. He would instead eventually reach a settlement that didn't require him to acknowledge his paternity of Bell. A separate incident later occurred with Bonita Ford, Malone's high school girlfriend, who filed a paternity lawsuit against him in 1989 over her twin children. Malone refused to submit DNA blood tests, resolved the case out of court, and only later reached out to both children in 1998 when they were 17-year-old highly-touted basketball recruits. Outside of any paternity issues, Malone did not seem like a saint as a basketball teammate, either. He was once famously embroiled in a conflict with the late Kobe Bryant and his widow, Vanessa. Per the Los Angeles Times, Malone reportedly made inappropriate passes at Vanessa Bryant during a November 2004 game, even apparently telling the daughter of Mexican immigrants that he was "hunting for little Mexican girls." After initial back-and-forth, unproductive discussions, Malone would later offer to simply fight Bryant to settle their beef. Professionalism is not an appropriate description to use if you're going to invoke Malone in this context. Not to mention that it's quite disingenuous in itself to only talk about Malone the basketball player for entertainment purposes, like it's a bog-standard water-cooler conversation about remembering some guys. Because it's not. Jefferson knows better and needs to do better. Regrettably, he's not alone in this regard.
New York Post
3 hours ago
- New York Post
NYPD's special quality-of-life cops now covering all of Brooklyn: ‘It's working'
The NYPD just expanded its special quality-of-life teams to cover all of Brooklyn after a pilot project showed they are succeeding in tackling 'everyday issues,'' city officials said Monday. Since the first 'Q-Teams'' were launched in six city police precincts in April, they have handled more than 23,400 quality-of-life calls on everything from illegal mopeds to homeless encampments, open drug use, abandoned vehicles and noise issues, Mayor Eric Adams and Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch revealed at a press conference. 'This is a real shift in how we serve neighborhoods, and it's working,' Tisch said. Advertisement 3 The NYPD's Quality of Life Division is expanding to every precinct by the end of August, Police Commish Jessica Tisch said Monday alongside Mayor Eric Adams. Stephen Yang 3 Adams said, 'We know that people were not feeling safe.' Stephen Yang The Brooklyn expansion adds to the teams' complete coverage in Manhattan and The Bronx. Queens is set to be covered by Aug. 11 and Staten Island by Aug. 18, officials said. Advertisement Statistics back up the initiative's success, with non-emergency response times improving by an average of 47 minutes, said the department — although it did not provide to The Post what the wait times were before the special teams went into effect. The special teams also have towed 640 'derelict'' vehicles and seized 299 illegal e-bikes and scooters so far, the department said. 'We know that people were not feeling safe. And that is why the commissioner put this quality of life initiative, the Q-team, throughout our entire city,' Adams said. 'And now we're coming to the largest borough and making sure we continue the success of our Q-team,' he said of the Brooklyn expansion, which was completed last week. Advertisement 3 The mayor said a pilot program proved the initiative deserves to be expanded. Stephen Yang Tisch said that while the NYPD had been 'laser-focused' on fighting crime for years, complaints regarding non-emergency disturbances skyrocketed between 2018 and 2024. 'Panhandling complaints rose by nearly 2,800%, homeless encampment calls jumped over 500%, and noise complaints nearly doubled. And illegal parking complaints were up more than 200%,' she said. Advertisement 'When we launched the Quality of Life Division earlier this year, the idea was simple but ambitious: Build teams focused entirely on the local conditions that make daily life harder for New Yorkers,' Tisch said. Tisch and Adams noted that July saw the lowest shooting rate and shooting victims of any July in recorded city history, or since 1993.
