A Phoenix community is grappling with a tragic loss after 42-year-old Craig Cooper was struck and killed by an alleged DUI driver early Sunday morning. Cooper was riding his motorcycle on I-10 eastbound near Loop 202 when the incident occurred, according to FOX 10 Phoenix.
The Arizona Department of Public Safety reported that the suspect, 22-year-old Andrew Ramirez Perez, was under the influence and operating his vehicle at speeds around 140 mph when he collided with Cooper’s motorcycle. "I am absolutely hurting. I am ripped apart," Craig's mother, Deborah Rivers, expressed in an interview acquired by FOX 10 Phoenix, conveying the anguish that Craig's family feels.
Ramirez Perez's blood alcohol level was purportedly twice the legal limit at the time of the crash. This isn't his first run-in with the law regarding driving violations, as he has a pending DUI charge from July, which occurred nearly at the same location as the recent deadly collision. "The suspect has a pending DUI criminal speed from July of this year where he was almost in the same spot where the collision occurred," said a prosecutor during Perez’s court appearance, according to court documents cited by FOX 10 Phoenix. Perez is currently facing a second-degree murder charge.
"He just makes me laugh. He brings out the best in me. He just knows when I’m sad. He knows what to say," Brittane Cooper, Craig's widow, expressed in an interview with AZFamily. The two celebrated their ninth wedding anniversary this past summer, but now she faces the devastating task of planning his funeral.
The family, which includes their two young children, is seeking support through a GoFundMe to cover the ensuing costs. "And when I say I’m angry, I’m so angry. I can’t even look at him," Brittane Cooper told AZFamily when speaking of the suspect.
