When I read the story of little Anakin Cesar Perez, it followed right into my chest, honestly. I kept thinking: how many times have I walked to school early in the morning, and how many times has anything happened in just mere seconds? The mom, Alejandra Gallegos, said everything online because she could not hold the pain inside her any longer, and after reading her, I totally understand why.
Anakin was only nine years old. A small boy who loved football like nothing else. Ever since he could talk, his mom says he would speak about soccer, how much it meant to him to play. On September 18, 2025, he left for school on a perfectly normal school day. The boy was just outside McNair Elementary School on the West Side of Chicago in the Austin neighborhood.
He crossed Walton Street about 7:40 am. Eyewitnesses claim he dashed from behind a gate and tried to run in between two parked cars. He stepped onto the road and was struck by a silver Chevrolet sedan. The woman driving the car was named Yaritza Marie Rivera, a.k.a. Ya Ya.
This is the point that honestly made my stomach turn. She hit him and never stopped; she carried his small body for seventy-five feet while other kids on their way to school witnessed the whole thing. People were shouting and trying to make her stop, but she turned the corner, came back a little to check the boy lying there, and then zoomed off again. Another parent chased her down in a truc,k and only then did she return.
Anakin was taken to Stroger Hospital, yet he could not make it there. I was forced to stop for a moment. When someone is only nine years old, he ought to be worrying about homework or football or what snacks to munch, not losing his life on his way to school.
The same morning, the police arrested Ya Ya and said they were investigating the case. But the very next day, she was out with nothing but a ticket. No arrest. No charges. Nothing. Even after the family alleged that she refused the breath test. That was something that broke Alejandra’s heart altogether.
From there, she went to Facebook and wrote everything. She even shared gruesome pictures for everyone to know that she was not imagining anything. She wrote how the police have told her that there will be no criminal charges against Yaritza Marie Rivera. She could not believe it.
She also mentioned that she learned that Ya Ya had fourteen traffic tickets in about ten years, more than one DUI, and she even had a fresh DUI case still open from 2024. Also, she had hit other people twice at marked crosswalks before. And she still had a driving license.
According to Alejandra, the police knew all this. They knew that she had refused the breathalyzer. They had seen the video of her dragging Anakin’s body down the street, and they let her leave with just a ticket. I mean, I would be pissed. Any parent in their right mind would have gone crazy seeing something like that.
Alejandra repeatedly wrote her questions. Who is protecting this woman? How many others does she have to hit before the police will do something about her? Why did the police in Chicago not lay charges given her atrocious record?
A direct message followed for Ya Ya. In the message, she said that the driver knew what she was doing, that she was driving under the influence, that she was crying and saying it was an accident, and then refused the breath test when the police asked for it. She said that if the driver was truly innocent, she should have tried everything to prove it. But she did not.
Alejandra was talking about her bond with her boy. Auxiliary to that, Anakin was an old soul: very protective, very loving, everybody told her. Christmas break was coming, gifts were going to be bought, fun things were all coming up, and now, instead of buying gifts, she woke up every morning living the same nightmare.
She gave out the number for the Chicago Police Detective Bureau (312) 745-4521 and asked everyone to call it and demand a serious investigation into the case involving Anakin Cesar Perez. In addition, she wants people to inquire about how Yaritza Marie Rivera is still free.
She has also mentioned that at times, she contemplates taking matters into her own hands, but she is quick to remind herself that she has three other children who need her alive and outside of prison. The hurt is so very heavy that she needs something to put her to sleep and something to wake up to, or she knows she is going to lose her mind.
Justice is all she wants for her son, who loved to play football, always smiled, and wanted to go to school that morning like all the other kids. Throughout this reading, the thought that kept running through my mind was how incredibly unfair life can be. One reckless individual has brought about a lasting downfall for an entire family. You may also be interested in: The Fart That Almost Benched My Love Life
