Mother Charged With Felonies After Car Crash Kills 7-Year-Old Daughter

Zachary Stieber
By Zachary Stieber
April 5, 2019US News
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Mother Charged With Felonies After Car Crash Kills 7-Year-Old Daughter
Theresa Peterson, 42, of Sanford, was arrested and charged with eight counts, including felony death by vehicle and driving while impaired. (North Carolina Highway Patrol)

A North Carolina mother was driving under the influence and without a license when she got into a single-car crash that killed her 7-year-old daughter, according to law enforcement officials.

Theresa Peterson, 42, of Sanford, was driving on N.C. Highway 210 south of Lillington on April 4 when she got into an accident.

Her daughter, Aniyah Peterson, was ejected from the vehicle as it hit a ditch and overturned. The girl died from her injuries.

A picture from the scene showed the white car lying on its roof.

Peterson was arrested and charged with felony death by vehicle, driving while impaired, two counts of felony child abuse, two counts of inflicting serious injury, reckless driving, driving without a valid license and driving without a child restraint, according to the North Carolina Highway Patrol, reported WRAL.

Peterson’s 14-year-old twins were also in the vehicle but were not injured. Another adult, Kenneth Jefferson, was riding in the vehicle as well and was injured, but it wasn’t clear how severely.

Jefferson has the same address as the Petersons, troopers told the Fayetteville Observer.

Trooper Eric Mellott said that Peterson is not believed to have been under the influence of alcohol; instead, investigators believe she was under the influence of another impairing drug. He would not say what drug investigators think she ingested.

According to WTVD, Peterson was being held on $200,000 bond.

police car siren
A police car in a file photo. (Mira Oberman/AFP/Getty Images)

Illegal Immigrant Driving Without a License 13-Year-Old

A woman who slammed into a 13-year-old girl riding her bike to school, killing the girl, was driving without a driver’s license, Florida officials said.

Micaela Coronel, 25, a native of Argentina, hit Mariana Pérez Borroto, in Kissimmee on April 3.

Mariana was riding her bicycle to Lake Marion Creek Middle School, where she was in eighth grade.

Coronel told Polk County Sheriff’s deputies that she was in the United States on a “visitor pass” as of October 2018 and presented an Argentine identification card.

woman without license hits, kills girl
Micaela Coronel, 25, a native of Argentina, was behind the wheel when she hit and killed Mariana Perez Borroto, in Kissimmee, Fla. on April 3, 2019. (Polk County Sheriff’s Office)

“She does not have a Florida driver’s license, and deputies determined through their investigation that she does not have a valid driver’s license at all,” the sheriff’s office stated.

At the time of the crash condensation covered about four-fifths of Coronel’s windshield, obstructing her view, according to deputies.

“This suspect should not have even been behind the wheel of a vehicle. This is an awful, senseless tragedy that should never have occurred,” said Sheriff Judd in a statement. “This beautiful child should be turning 14 years old in just two weeks, but for this suspect’s illegal actions. Mariana’s family and friends are in our prayers.”

25-year-old Micaela Coronel, arrested for hit and run fatality

Sheriff Judd is briefing the media about the arrest of 25-year-old Micaela Coronel, who hit and killed a 13-year-old Poinciana girl who was riding her bike to Lake Marion Creek Middle School on Wednesday morning, April 3rd. Click here to read the news release: bit.ly/2IgZCv1

Posted by Polk County Sheriff's Office on Thursday, April 4, 2019

Judd told reporters at a news conference the day after the crash that Coronel was in the country illegally on an expired work visa, according to Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The agency has placed a detainer on the woman, meaning when she is released either with or without a conviction and sentence, she will be deported.

“Nothing is going to bring that beautiful 13-year-old girl back to her family,” Judd said. “She should have been celebrating her 14th birthday in a few weeks, but she won’t.”

“She’s here illegally, she’s operating a motor vehicle illegally, and she runs over a child. This simply wouldn’t have happened if she was in her country of origin, Argentina,” Judd added of Coronel. “Here’s one more example of someone illegally in this country clearly violating the law. There is no excuse.”

Coronel was arrested and charged with operating a motor vehicle without a valid driver’s license causing death.

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