Man who crashed into packed APS school bus asks court for shorter sentence

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – An Albuquerque man who got a break in court for slamming into a school bus full of students asked the court to cut his sentence down even more.

Mario Perez’s family members told the courtroom he didn’t deserve this, speaking to his character and integrity. They begged Judge Bruce Fox to resentence him to less time in prison.

But the judge said that Perez already got a good deal. “I am going to deny your motion to reconsider. I consider the four-year sentence I gave to Mr. Perez basically a minimal sentence for this type of crime,” said Judge Bruce Fox, Second Judicial Court.

Perez was facing up to 15 years behind bars for a crash in 2022 that was so powerful it flipped an Albuquerque Public Schools school bus full of students on its side. Investigators said Perez was street racing and driving over 100 miles per hour before the impact on Gibson in southwest Albuquerque.

In February, Judge Bruce Fox sentenced him to four years in prison, saying Perez lacked a criminal history and considered his age, being over 50 years old.

During Tuesday’s bid for a lesser sentence, Judge Fox made it clear that street racing is a major problem in Albuquerque and demands a response from the court. “I don’t know why it’s just not sinking in, but we continually have these issues of people crashing and innocent lives being affected by you know, poor decision making,” said Judge Fox.

The judge sided with prosecutors, who argued the impacts of the crash had lasting effects on the teenagers who were in the bus.

Perez was out of jail for the last three years while the case played out in the courts. Judge Fox also pointed out that Perez has the chance to get time shaved off his sentence for good behavior.

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