Day care van driver accepts plea deal in toddler's death

Lelier Perez Hernandez left boy inside van, placed body on concrete slab outside daycare

MIAMI – A day care van driver accused of leaving a 22-month-old boy inside the van in 2011 accepted a plea deal Tuesday in the child's death.

Lelier Perez Hernandez will serve six months in a Miami-Dade County jail, followed by seven years of probation. He has 30 days to surrender.

Hernandez was charged with manslaughter and tampering with evidence after Dominicue Andrews was found dead outside the Jomiba Learning Center in Homestead in July 2011.

According to court records, Hernandez took Dominicue from the van and laid him on a concrete slab outside the school without telling anyone he had found the child. Hernandez participated in a search for the toddler and a staff member later found him lying outside.

Dominicue's parents told Local 10 News a year after his death that giving Hernandez a plea deal was not justice.

"It makes me feel bad," Dominicue's father said. "My son passed away and they can't even tell me what happened. They come with pleas? That's not right."

"It's not enough," the boy's mother, Porsha Andrews, said.

On Tuesday, Hernandez apologized to the boy's parents, saying through an interpreter that he had no words and was very sorry. Dominicue's mother told Hernandez that she forgives him for her son's death.

"I've been suffering about this for a long time since I lost my child," Porsha Andrews said through tears. "But I forgive you though. It's hard for me to accept it, but I forgive you."

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About the Author:

Amanda Batchelor is the Digital Executive Producer for Local10.com.