Driver pleads guilty for role in fiery crash that killed 6-year-old in Gaston County
One of two racing drivers charged in the fiery crash that killed 6-year-old Liam Lagunas will spend at least three and a half years in prison after pleading guilty for her role in the tragedy.
On June 26, 2021, Gracie Eaves was racing Donnie Ray Cobb at 100 mph in Gaston County before Cobb lost control of his Audi and slammed head-on into a car carrying Liam and his father, police say.
Eaves tearfully apologized to Liam’s mother, father and grandmother in a Gaston County courtroom on Tuesday.
“I’m really sorry,” said Eaves, 21. “If I could take this back, I would. I just wish someday down the road (Liam’s family) will let me reach out to apologize more.”
Eaves pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter and assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury. She faces 41 to 53 months in prison.
Cobb, the other driver, is charged with murder and other offenses. If convicted, he will likely face a much stiffer sentence.
Cobb also appeared in court on Tuesday. Before Eaves’ sentencing, Gaston District Attorney Travis Page told a judge that he has informed Cobb that he must plead guilty as charged — and face a sentence of 23 to 29 years in prison — or go to trial.
“This family deserves justice,” Page told Superior Court Judge David Phillips. “There’s a 6-year-old boy who has been murdered.”
Cobb’s lawyer, Brent Ratchford, said his client was not yet ready to enter a plea. Phillips agreed to give Cobb 30 days to decide.
Eaves and Cobb were strangers the day of the high-speed crash. Yet they started an impromptu road race that resulted in Cobb losing control of his car and smashing into a sedan carrying Liam, authorities say.
Prior to the fatal crash, Cobb had been charged with dozens of offenses, ranging from impaired driving to felony larceny. He also had a history of getting off easy on speeding charges, The Observer revealed in a detailed story about the crash published in October.
Part of a deadly pattern
Cobb, now 47, is one of many chronic speeders in North Carolina who have repeatedly gotten lenient deals in court, a 2021 Observer and Raleigh News & Observer investigation found. The reporting revealed that extreme speeding is rampant on many North Carolina roads and that the consequences can be deadly.
It’s happening largely because the state’s overwhelmed courts have allowed it to occur, the newspapers’ investigation found. When people are charged with driving 20 mph or more over the speed limit, nearly 92% get breaks in court that let them avoid the full penalties, the investigation documented.
And scores of North Carolina motorists keep driving after they are repeatedly charged with extreme speeding.
In hundreds of cases, high-speed crashes have killed children like Liam. In the decade prior to his death, more than 420 children were killed in high-speed wrecks in North Carolina, the Observer found.
On the night of the fatal collision, Cobb was driving east on U.S. 74 when he and a Dodge Challenger driven by Eaves began racing, according to the Highway Patrol.
After the racing cars sideswiped, Cobb lost control of his Audi, which hurled across the grassy median and into the westbound lanes — head-on into Lagunas’ Altima.
Liam’s father, Santiago Lagunas, suffered serious injuries in the crash.
At Tuesday’s court hearing, he wore a T shirt emblazoned with Liam’s name over a pair of wings, along with the words: “Forever in our hearts Mi Amor.” He recounted the moments after he awoke from the crash and found Liam unconscious in the back seat.
“I asked (Liam) to wake up,” Lagunas told the judge before Eaves’ sentencing. “And he never did. That moment changed my life.”
Brandi Birrittier, Liam’s mother, broke into tears as the prosecutor described the wreck scene in court.
“I have to relive this nightmare every day,” she told the judge.
Before sentencing Eaves, Judge Phillips explained why she had to go to prison.
“A parent or a grandparent should never have to bury a child,” he said. “This is not an accident. It’s a crime.”
This story was originally published September 6, 2022 at 1:49 PM.
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