![\"Photographs](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/tfl-l-sunshine-perez-sentencing-06-072426.JPG\" "\\"Photographs")
<\/p>\n <\/p>\n
Photographs of Ezequiel \u2018Zeke\u2019 Urrutia are displayed during the sentencing hearing of Sunshine Perez at the Broward County Courthouse in Fort Lauderdale on Friday, July 24, 2026. Perez, of Hialeah, pleaded guilty to DUI manslaughter and related charges in connection with a wrong-way crash that killed Urrutia on Florida\u2019s Turnpike in Miramar on Jan. 9, 2025.<\/p>\n
Amy Beth Bennett<\/p>\n
South Florida Sun Sentinel<\/p>\n
A wrong-way driver under the influence of multiple substances will spend the next 20 years behind bars after crashing head-on into a car driven by a 23-year-old paramedic, killing him on Florida\u2019s Turnpike in Broward County.<\/p>\n
Sunshine \u201cShine\u201d Perez, 46, dressed in a blue jumpsuit and shackled to a wheelchair, addressed Judge Peter Holden and the family of Ezequiel \u201cZeke\u201d Urrutia on Friday, speaking the longest out of anyone, including the more than 20 of Zeke\u2019s loved ones who spoke ahead of Perez\u2019s sentencing. Perez pleaded no contest in March, avoiding a trial.<\/p>\n
A crying Perez started by expressing her condolences and apologies to Urrutia\u2019s family, continually saying that she can\u2019t imagine what his mother is going through \u2014 especially as a mother of two herself. She insisted the crash was an accident.<\/p>\n
Though, Zeke\u2019s family called Perez\u2019s statements \u201cnothing but excuses\u201d after her sentencing at the Broward County Courthouse in Fort Lauderdale.<\/p>\n
\u201cSunshine Perez killed my son,\u201d Zeke\u2019s mother, Tiffany Urrutia, said during the hearing.<\/p>\n
Perez spent much of her speaking time telling Judge Holden that if she is given a chance she hopes to do good acts, including teaching others not to drink and drive, something that she says she already tells the women she is jailed with.<\/p>\n
\u201cI want to be able to come back from this,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
![\"Sunshine](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/tfl-l-sunshine-perez-sentencing-12-072426.JPG\" "\\"tfl-l-sunshine-perez-sentencing-12-072426.JPG\\"")
Sunshine Perez is wheeled to the defense table during her sentencing hearing at the Broward County Courthouse in Fort Lauderdale on Friday, July 24, 2026. Amy Beth Bennett South Florida Sun Sentinel <\/p>\n
But Zeke\u2019s friends and family took the witness stand and asked Judge Holden for the maximum penalty.<\/p>\n
\u201cZeke Uruttia did not die, Sunshine Renae Perez killed him,\u201d said Eleasa Brown Thompson, a family friend of the Urrutias, said.<\/p>\n
Brown Thompson, a retired major with the then-Miami-Dade Police Department, called Perez a \u201cdetriment to society,\u201d adding that her family and friends have continued to make excuses for her actions.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey want her to get one more do-over,\u201d Brown Thompson said. \u201cZeke Uruttia does not get a do-over.\u201d<\/p>\n
Even though Perez did not receive the maximum sentence of 34 years on Friday, Zeke\u2019s relatives said they feel at peace with the sentence.<\/p>\n
In a letter to the court, her husband, Phillip Perez, described his wife\u2019s traumatic childhood, including the death of her mother when she was 7. A former certified nursing assistant who lives in Hialeah, her most recent job was to assemble computer and TV displays. Phillip Perez said the crash and Urrutia\u2019s resulting death so saddened him, he considered divorce. He stuck a photo of Urrutia inside his Bible.<\/p>\n
\u201cI trully (sic) believe there is 2 ways her life will go,\u201d his handwritten letter to the judge says. \u201cOne is to recovery with A-A & church or back to her old ways. I would now like to wait for her and see her walk in a Christian life with me. Or that\u2019s it, I\u2019m finished with her.\u201d<\/p>\n
Phillip Perez spoke in court on Friday, expressing how sorry he is and said he will wait for his wife to come back home.<\/p>\n
Sunshine Perez told police she didn\u2019t remember what happened that night. Detectives obtained surveillance video showing her purchasing a bottle of Patron tequila at BM Liquors off Pembroke Road in western Hollywood at 8:50 p.m. that night, then visiting 23 Liquor Store off Hallandale Beach Boulevard just before midnight to buy another.<\/p>\n
Two hours later, at 1:50 in the morning on a Thursday \u2014 Jan. 9, 2025 \u2014 she entered the off-ramp at Northwest 27th Avenue\/University Drive and drove the wrong way onto the Turnpike Extension.<\/p>\n
Zeke Urrutia was a paramedic for MCT Express and a state-certified firefighter who was applying for jobs in South Florida. He was driving a 2016 Honda Civic on the northbound side of the Turnpike \u2014 though on that span of the roadway, along the Miami-Dade\/Broward line, the highway\u2019s directions are east and west. A non-drinker, he was driving up from the Miami area, headed to the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino near Hollywood, his dad said.<\/p>\n
![\"Zeke](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/IMG_9422.jpeg\" "\\"IMG_9422.jpeg\\"")
Zeke Urrutia celebrates his 23rd birthday in Las Vegas. Urrutia family <\/p>\n
He was driving in the inside lane with his seatbelt on. Perez, in a 2010 Honda Element SUV, was in the same lane, driving toward him for two miles. She never swerved, investigators said. They collided head-on not far from the Red Road exit in Miramar.<\/p>\n
Urrutia couldn\u2019t be revived; he was declared dead 10 minutes later, court records say. Perez, who smelled of liquor and had \u201cbloodshot red watery eyes,\u201d was taken to a hospital, where she told investigators that she had been at a friend\u2019s house in Miami Gardens and didn\u2019t remember anything after, including how she got on the Turnpike, court records recount.<\/p>\n
Her blood tested positive for alcohol, methamphetamine and oxycodone.<\/p>\n
This was her fifth crash in 29 years, court records say. In two of the other crashes, she was speeding, in one she was driving carelessly, the other she ran a stop sign.<\/p>\n
Perez was sentenced to 15 years for vehicular homicide and five years for DUI manslaughter followed by 10 years of probation in which she will not be allowed to drive and is subject to weekly drug tests.<\/p>\n
103 letters<\/p>\n
The Urrutia family collected 103 letters to be read at the sentencing. While not all the letters were able to be read, Zeke\u2019s father said the family had to read all the letters to make sure they would be appropriate for court.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was heartbreaking to have to read them, \u201cFrank Urrutia said.<\/p>\n
One by one, Zeke\u2019s loved ones sat in the witness stand, letters in hand.<\/p>\n
Cristina Diaz was Zeke\u2019s girlfriend. The two had been dating for four years when he was killed.<\/p>\n
The two planned to spend the rest of their lives together, but Diaz said Perez \u201cstole the life we were supposed to build together.\u201d<\/p>\n
Diaz\u2019s parents, Angela and Francesco Diaz, took the stand and spoke about how much Zeke\u2019s death devastated their daughter. Francesco described Zeke as someone with a \u201cstrong moral compass\u201d who \u201cmade and left this world a better place.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery family gathering was better because he was there,\u201d Angela said.<\/p>\n
Countless stories of Zeke\u2019s kindness, bravery and commitment to a life of servitude took up the nearly eight-hour hearing.<\/p>\n
\u201cZeke was truly loved by anyone who he had a chance to spend time with,\u201d said Ingrid Mapelli, a relative.<\/p>\n
That was evident at his memorial service, where about 650 people gathered to pay their respects.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe funeral home was overwhelmed,\u201d she said. One of Zeke\u2019s coworkers shared a story at the memorial, and Mapelli shared it at the sentencing, saying it captured the type of person Zeke was.<\/p>\n
The coworker recalled a time when she was crying in the break room. When Zeke asked what was wrong, she told him her husband had left her, and she didn\u2019t have enough money to pay the rent. Fearing she and her children would be evicted, she didn\u2019t know where to turn.<\/p>\n
Without hesitation, Zeke gave her the money that she needed to cover the rent.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe did so from his hard-earned savings,\u201d Mapelli said.<\/p>\n
![\"Frank](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/tfl-l-sunshine-perez-sentencing-03-072426.JPG\" "\\"tfl-l-sunshine-perez-sentencing-03-072426.JPG\\"")
Frank Urrutia escorts his mother, Martita Urrutia, back to her seat after she gave an impact statement on Friday, July 24, 2026. Amy Beth Bennett South Florida Sun Sentinel <\/p>\n
Zeke spent the afternoon before his death with his grandmother. He told her about how happy he was to work as a paramedic \u2014 saving people\u2019s lives, his grandmother Martita Urrutia said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have not been able to accept the fact that he is no longer with us,\u201d she said, adding that he also told her that evening he had plans to continue his education and was even thinking of going to medical school one day.<\/p>\n
The stories poured in from childhood friends who spoke about him being a passionate baseball player, wrestler and fisherman.<\/p>\n
Mylinda Drury said her family became neighbors of the Urrutias in 2001, shortly after Zeke was born. She still remembers bringing the family a pan of spaghetti to help welcome the newborn home. She also bough them spaghetti after he died.<\/p>\n
As they grew up, Zeke and her son, Nicky \u201cIndy\u201d Drury, became inseparable.<\/p>\n
\u201cOnly seven months apart, but to us we might as well have been twins,\u201d Indy said.<\/p>\n
The two spent nearly all their time together \u2014 playing baseball, riding bikes and playing in the street, taking family vacations and making memories that lasted into adulthood. They considered each other brothers, and Indy said he often referred to the Urrutia home as his \u201csecond home.\u201d<\/p>\n
Zeke was even a groomsman in Indy\u2019s wedding. It was the last time they saw each other in person before Indy was stationed in Japan with the military.<\/p>\n
Perez kept her head down crying during most of the testimonies.<\/p>\n
Victor Gonzalez Jr. described Zeke as \u201c[his] greatest friend and companion.\u201d<\/p>\n
The two had been friends for more than two decades.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe did everything together,\u201d Gonzalez said. \u201cWe trusted each other without asking twice.\u201d<\/p>\n
He remembered Zeke as someone who was endlessly curious, always asking questions and eager to learn. That curiosity led him to spend time with Gonzalez\u2019s uncle, a retired city of Miami firefighter, to learn more about the profession that he hoped to join.<\/p>\n
\u201cI model my life after Zeke,\u201d Gonzalez said. \u201cI was proud to be his best friend.\u201d<\/p>\n
Now, Gonzalez said, he is grieving not only the loss of his closest friend but also the milestones that they will never share.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy best man won\u2019t be there on my wedding day,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Two graduations lost<\/p>\n
Alexis Urrutia described her older brother as more than a sibling.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was a built-in best friend I was supposed to have for life,\u201d she told the court.<\/p>\n
Alexis recalled crying at her high-school graduation because Zeke wasn\u2019t there to celebrate with her. He never had his own graduation ceremony after the COVID-19 pandemic canceled it. She said future milestones will be marked by his absence, with her brother present only in photographs and memories.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat stays with me every day is everything that was taken from Zeke,\u201d Alexis said.<\/p>\n
Their mother, Tiffany Urrutia, said that from the day \u201che [Zeke] was born, my heart was completely his,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Born five days before Christmas, Tiffany affectionately called him her \u201cChristmas baby.\u201d Now, she said, every Christmas morning serves as another painful reminder of his absence.<\/p>\n
She remembered years spent as a baseball and wrestling mom and said Zeke \u201cknew exactly who he wanted to be.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMy son had big plans,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Those plans included becoming a firefighter, proposing to his girlfriend and starting a family. Tiffany said Zeke did not drink alcohol or use drugs.<\/p>\n
Tiffany described the overwhelming grief that has followed his death, saying even the simplest daily tasks now feel impossible. She said she and her husband, who own a small business, have also faced financial hardship because there are days when they are physically and emotionally unable to work.<\/p>\n
She accused Perez of \u201cweaponizing her vehicle until she killed my precious son\u201d and said she ignored repeated warnings before the crash.<\/p>\n
Talking about a letter that Perez wrote to the family, Tiffany said it failed to take accountability for the narcotics found in her system. She also said she was offended that Perez asked whether she was a Christian, calling it an attempt to use religion to manipulate her into forgiveness rather than \u201ca sincere expression of remorse.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Frank](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/tfl-l-sunshine-perez-sentencing-01-072426.JPG\" "\\"tfl-l-sunshine-perez-sentencing-01-072426.JPG\\"")
Frank Urrutia cries during the hearing. He said his son Zeke was \u2018my best shipmate.\u2019 Amy Beth Bennett South Florida Sun Sentinel <\/p>\n
Frank Urrutia remembered raising his son through baseball, wrestling and countless days on the family\u2019s boat, which they bought when Zeke was a toddler. He recalled Zeke\u2019s first catch \u2014 a medium-sized trout.<\/p>\n
\u201cZeke became my best shipmate,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Frank said the lessons that Zeke learned at Palmetto High School and through sports helped shape the man he became.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn a single moment, Sunshine Perez put an end to everything,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
He recalled the devastating moment when Florida Highway Patrol detectives knocked on the family\u2019s door to tell them about the fatal crash. Jurors saw a video showing Perez driving the wrong way before the collision.<\/p>\n
\u201cHis legacy will live through action,\u201d Frank said of his son. The family started the \u201cZeke Urrutia Firefighter Scholarship\u201d<\/a> and Zeke Urrutia Paramedic Scholarship<\/a> to support aspiring firefighters and paramedics.<\/p>\n Frank also spoke about a letter submitted by Perez\u2019s husband, saying it acknowledged she had a history of similar behavior. While he said he respected her husband\u2019s devotion to her, he added, \u201cMy son would still be saving lives to this day if she hadn\u2019t killed him.\u201d<\/p>\n Before sentencing, Perez addressed the court one final time, saying she accepted responsibility for Zeke\u2019s death.<\/p>\n Civil lawsuit filed<\/p>\n Gary Catronio\u2019s daughter and her best friend were killed in 2013 by a drunk, wrong-way driver on the Sawgrass Expressway in Broward County. He formed a non-profit, Marisa\u2019s Way, to honor 21-year-old Marisa Catronio\u2019s memory by advocating for wrong-way driver prevention and installation of detection systems.<\/p>\n Zeke\u2019s father, Frank, showed up at his door after Zeke\u2019s death after learning of Marisa\u2019s Way, Catronio said on Friday during the sentencing. The two have become close.<\/p>\n Wrong-way driver detection systems have expanded across Florida over the years since she and Kaitlyn Ferrante died.<\/p>\n The Urrutias say such a system was in place but not functioning on the night their son was killed. They\u2019re seeking accountability in civil court, suing the Florida Department of Transportation and contractors for negligence. An FDOT spokesman did not respond to requests for comments.<\/p>\n The civil lawsuit, filed by attorney Skip Pita in Miami-Dade County last December, alleges that a wrong-way detection system at the Northwest 27th Avenue off-ramp failed. The system, when working, flashes warning signs, alerts law enforcement to respond and displays messages on digital signs to warn drivers on the Turnpike.<\/p>\n \u201cThe system failed,\u201d the lawsuit says. \u201cTotally.\u201d<\/p>\n No alerts were issued that night, and Perez drove undetected for more than two miles before crashing into Urrutia.<\/p>\n Police said her speedometer was stuck at 79 miles an hour; a 911 caller who shot video of Perez\u2019s fateful mistake said she appeared to be speeding at 100 miles an hour or more, according to court records.<\/p>\n The lawsuit claims that after the widening of the exit ramp in 2018, the detection system failed. A repair installed between 2022 and 2024 also was faulty, the lawsuit says. The system was not properly repaired, the lawsuit says, until May 2025, four months after Urrutia died.<\/p>\n This story was originally published July 24, 2026 at 6:40 PM.<\/p>\n Related Stories from Miami Herald<\/p>\n Milena Malaver<\/a><\/p>\n Miami Herald<\/p>\n Milena Malaver covers crime and breaking news for the Miami Herald. She was born and raised in Miami-Dade and is a graduate of Florida International University. She joined the Herald shortly after graduating.\n <\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/tfl-l-sunshine-perez-sentencing-07-072426.JPG\" "\\"tfl-l-sunshine-perez-sentencing-07-072426.JPG\\"")
A woman wears a photograph of Ezequiel Urrutia during the sentencing hearing. Amy Beth Bennett South Florida Sun Sentinel <\/p>\n
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