Drunk Driving illegal alien: Prior convictions: Murders father & injures family!
Posted on Tuesday, July 19 @ 18:35:42 EDT
Topic: Crimes Scenes illegal immigration laws
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 A roofer with a history of drunken driving slammed his truck into a Mount Holly family's beach-bound station wagon over the weekend, killing a Gastonia high school teacher, authorities said.
(illegal immigration, crimes, security, laws, NC, Licenses, Democrat, Republican)
July 19, 2005
GREG RICKABAUGH
Charlotte Observer
Scott Gardner, 33, died hours after the Saturday afternoon crash along N.C. 130 near Wilmington. His two children, 2-year-old Avery and 5-year-old Jackson, suffered only minor injuries, but their mother, Tina Gardner, 31, remained in critical condition Monday evening.
The man accused in the crash -- Ramiro Gallegos, 26, of Supply, N.C. -- remained in a Brunswick County Jail without bond Monday on charges of second-degree murder and hit and run. His blood alcohol level at the time of the arrest was 0.22 percent, nearly three times the legal limit of .08 percent, said First Sgt. J.O. Holmes with the N.C. Highway Patrol.
Holmes said Gallegos told troopers that he was in the country illegally from Mexico. But he was not deported despite previous convictions for DWI, resisting arrest and failure to appear in court, records show.
N.C. law-enforcement agencies have few resources for deporting illegal immigrants who break the law, Holmes said.
"If they are convicted of a serious offense, then at whatever point they complete their time, they are deported," Holmes said. "But DWI, from what I understand, does not qualify."
Cheryl Jones, chairwoman of MADD Metrolina, which covers the Charlotte region, said she doesn't understand why authorities didn't deport Gallegos.
"I would like to see a judge justify that now that we have one person dead and one person seriously injured," she said. "What these courts don't understand is that every DWI has the potential to kill."
In April 2004, Gallegos was sentenced to three years of probation for a DWI and driving while his license was revoked, N.C. Department of Correction records show. In 2003, he was sentenced to probation, also for DWI, records show.
The crash happened about 5:30 p.m. Saturday on N.C. 130 not far from Shallotte.
Troopers recovered beer cans throughout the cab and bed of the 1999 Ford F-150 pickup truck that Gallegos was driving, Holmes said. Gallegos and three other co-workers had packed into the truck's front cab and were heading west when Gallegos ran off the road, over-corrected and crossed the center line, Holmes said. Troopers estimated he was 10 mph over the 55 mph speed limit.
Scott Gardner apparently tried to swerve to the right to avoid the crash, Holmes said, but the family's eastbound 2001 Subaru station wagon never left the road before impact. He and his wife were both airlifted to New Hanover Regional Medical Center, where he died early Sunday.
The children survived with minor injuries only because they were properly restrained, Holmes said. Both parents also were wearing their seat belts.
Gallegos is accused of running from troopers at the scene, Holmes said. He was captured nearby and is charged with the two felonies as well as DWI, driving with a revoked license, reckless driving and failure to wear a seat belt.
The Gardner family was headed to Sunset Beach for a weeklong vacation, said neighbor Stephanie Moeller. Another couple followed, and the group planned to share a rental unit.
After the wreck, Tina Gardner's parents drove from Spivey's Corner to be with her at the hospital. Family members were caring for the children.
Word of the fatal wreck spread fast through the Gaston County community, where Gardner worked as a digital communications instructor at the Highland School of Technology. The family played active roles at the First Baptist Church of Mount Holly.
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