HARRIS COUNTY, Texas (KTRK) — A 21-year-old man has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for a 2019 road rage shooting that sparked a fire that burned two children and their father.
Bayron Rivera’s sentencing came down on Tuesday, the Harris County District Attorney’s Office confirmed.
He was on trial for the shooting that ignited fireworks inside the family’s truck. The fiery crash happened on July 4, 2019, in northwest Harris County. Bentley and Messiah Smith, then 1 and 2 years old, and their father, Reginald Smith, were badly burned. Rivera was 18 at the time.
The boys were in their car seats, riding in their truck with their mother and father when investigators said Rivera fired rounds from a semi-automatic rifle into their vehicle. The shots ignited fireworks inside the family’s vehicle.
According to the Harris County Sheriff’s Office, the incident was the result of road rage.
At the time that the trial began, the children were said to have made a remarkable physical recovery.
