Thread: IA driving while drunk kills NC man

Illegal Immigrant Accused Of Driving Drunk, Causing Fatal Boone Crash
POSTED: 5:30 pm EST November 26, 2007

BOONE, N.C. -- An illegal immigrant is accused of driving drunk in Boone over the Thanksgiving holiday and plowing into a sport utility vehicle, killing a man inside.

Boone police said Juan Manuel Juarez Reyes slammed into the rear of a Lexus SUV that was about to turn from Highway 105 onto Poplar Hill Drive shortly before 11 p.m. Friday. The SUV was skidded 250 feet, hitting a Watauga County deputy’s patrol car. The occupants of the SUV were trapped inside their vehicle but the deputy was not hurt.

The driver, Sallie Ellis Newell, and passenger Jacqueline Elizabeth Newell were taken to the Watauga County Medical Center where they were treated in released. But Brian Alan Newell and Andrew Russell Newell, who was in the back passenger-side seat, were flown to Johnson City Regional Medical Center.

Andrew Newell, 22, died at the hospital. His father remains in critical condition.

Family members said the Newells were returning from a Thanksgiving trip to South Carolina and were only a quarter-mile from home.

Authorities said Monday that Juarez Reyes was caught in the country by Border Patrol agents in 2002 and was sent back to Mexico. They aren’t sure when he re-entered the United States.

Police say he was speeding and drunk when the crash happened.

Juarez Reyes is charged with driving while impaired, driving without a license and three counts of felonious assault with a deadly weapon causing serious injury by vehicle.

He is being held under $75,000 bond and has asked for a court-appointed attorney. He’ll be back in court Jan. 14.
http://www.wsoctv.com/news/14697305/detail.html

26 November 2007
Thanksgiving Tragedy in North Carolina
Brenda Walker @ 11:51 pm

If there’s anything more heartbreaking than a holiday death at the hands of an illegal alien, I don’t know what it is. Last Thanksgiving, Marine Cpl. Brian Mathews and his date Jennifer Bower were killed by a drunk-driving illegal.

Of course, there’s no good day for a family member to be struck down in a cruel and preventable crime. But for as long as they live, those related to the dead young man will remember Thanksgiving as the occasion of his untimely death.

Andrew Newell, 22, of Boone, North Carolina, was killed when the Lexus SUV in which he was a passenger was struck by a vehicle driven by Juan Manuel Juarez Reyes, a previously deported Mexican. Andrew’s father Brian remains hospitalized with critical injuries, while his mother Sallie Ellis Newell and sister Jacqueline Elizabeth, 18, were treated and released.

The Lexus was so mangled by the force of the crash that it took rescuers 45 minutes to extricate the victims from the wreck.

Family members said the Newells were returning from a Thanksgiving trip to South Carolina and were only a quarter-mile from home.

Authorities said Monday that Juarez Reyes was caught in the country by Border Patrol agents in 2002 and was sent back to Mexico. They aren’t sure when he re-entered the United States.

Police say he was speeding and drunk when the crash happened.

Juarez Reyes is charged with driving while impaired, driving without a license and three counts of felonious assault with a deadly weapon causing serious injury by vehicle.
[Illegal Immigrant Accused Of Driving Drunk, Causing Fatal Boone Crash, WSOC-TV 11/26/07]

How sad that the Newell family was only a few blocks from the safety of home.

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Why You Need a Vehicle WarrantyNews update:

Reyes charged with second degree murder in vehicular death
By Melanie Davis
Melanie@highcountrymedia.net

Further investigation into the fatal collision Friday night has led officers of the Boone Police Department to file additional charges against Juan Manuel Juarez Reyes, 24, of Boone.

Reyes has been charged with second degree murder and two counts of assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury.

Reyes has been in custody since the accident, which caused the death of Andrew “Drewâ€

It's been less than a month ago that a Hickory, NC woman was killed, and others seriously injured by a drunk illegal. It's a crying shame that people, who are NOT SUPPOSED TO BE HERE, are taking the lives of our citizens while our government just ignores it

Suspect Faces Murder Charges In Hit-And-Run

An Oakland man was charged with two counts of murder Monday in connection with a Thanksgiving night hit-and-run accident that left two people dead and two others critically injured, according to Alameda County Assistant District Attorney Norbert Chu.

Carmelo Salas, 28, who allegedly fled the scene of the crash at 89th Avenue and D Street about 7:20 p.m. Thursday but was arrested about four hours later, is expected to be arraigned in Alameda County Superior Court on Tuesday.

Salas is accused of murder for the deaths of Jacqueline Munguia, 5, and her aunt, Stephanie Cervantes, 14.

Salas is also charged with two counts of assault by means likely to produce great bodily injury for injuries sustained by Jacqueline's mother, 23-year-old Laura Herrera, and Herrera's daughter, 3-year-old Evalyn Munguia.

Both were hospitalized after the accident and are still in critical condition.

The family members were on their way to a Thanksgiving dinner when their car was struck.

In addition, prosecutors charged Salas with kidnapping for allegedly forcing his 17-year-old nephew to ride along with him in a Ford Expedition sports utility vehicle shortly before it crashed into the Ford Mustang driven by Herrera.

Chu said he didn't charge Salas with driving while intoxicated because he wasn't arrested until about four hours after the fatal accident and wasn't tested until nearly eight hours afterward.

By that time, Salas' blood alcohol level was only 0.014, well below the limit where a person is considered too intoxicated to drive.

Salas could face a prison sentence of at least 30 years to life if he's convicted of two counts of second-degree murder plus the other counts in the case.

Chu said Salas' nephew gave a statement to Oakland police that provided the basis for filing murder charges against Salas.

The prosecutor said the nephew told police he didn't want to go with Salas because Salas "can be volatile and crazy."

Chu said that when the nephew tried to put on his seatbelt, Salas stopped him and said, "If I die, you will too."

Chu said the nephew warned Salas about the approaching Mustang, but Salas continued speeding.

Salas was driving at an estimated 80 miles per hour in a 25 mph zone and ran two stop signs, according to Chu.

The prosecutor said there aren't any skid marks at the accident scene, which indicates that Salas didn't make any effort to avoid the other car.

Chu said he believes Salas engaged in "a deliberate act with subjective awareness" of what would happen.

He said he believes Salas' actions were implied malice, which is a key element of murder, because he engaged in an inherently dangerous activity by running two stop signs and was aware that he would hit another vehicle.

Chu said the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency has placed a deportation hold on Salas because he's in the U.S. illegally from Mexico.

Salas also is on probation for a misdemeanor battery conviction in 2006.

http://cbs5.com/crime/hit.and.run.2.596125.html

The Boone crash is in Congresswoman Virginia Foxx's district. Has she co-sponsored the SAVE act? If not, we need to make her responsible for the death of this American until she does. Same goes for Senators Elizabeth Dole and Richard Burr.