Illegal driver killed a Harris County sheriff'
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/5561080.html
Feb. 22, 2008, 1:25PM
Driver in fatal wreck is illegal immigrant, feds say
By JENNIFER LEAHY and KEVIN MORAN
Copyright 2008 Houston Chronicle
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SCUMBAG ILLEGAL FROM MEXICO
The driver of the truck that was involved in an accident that killed a Harris County sheriff's deputy is an illegal immigrant from Mexico, federal authorities confirmed today.
Officials with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Houston said they have placed an immigration hold on Jose Jesus Vieyra, who was charged with criminally negligent homicide this morning.
``There is an immigration detainer on him, and when the county turns him over to ICE when they're done with the adjudication of their case, then we'll put him in removal proceedings,'' said John Gaudioso, deputy special agent in charge of the ICE office.
Vieyra, 56, is charged in connection with a collision that killed Deputy Craig Miller on Thursday night on a Katy Freeway access road. He is being held in the County Jail in lieu of $35,000 bail, said Capt. John Martin, spokesman for the Sheriff's Office.
Miller, 43, was working undercover when the crash occurred shortly before 8 p.m., Martin said. He was a 20-year veteran of the department.
Authorities said Miller was traveling east on the access road along Interstate 10 West near Mason Road when Vieyra drove his truck out of a driveway at the Don McGill Toyota dealership.
Vieyra drove across three lanes into the path of the sport utility vehicle Miller was driving, Martin said. The SUV ran into the truck, became airborne and landed on a raised concrete embankment separating the feeder road from the Katy Freeway, Martin said.
Firefighters had to cut through the wreckage to get the deputy out. He died at the scene.
"The basis of the charge is that (Vieyra) failed to yield the right-of-way," Martin said.
He said there was no indication that Vieyra was drunk or under the influence of drugs.
Miller is survived by a wife and two young children, Martin said. He said the deputy was assigned to an investigative support unit that does considerable surveillance work, among other duties.
"I can't even imagine what the family must be going through," Martin said. "Our thoughts and prayers are with them."
It was the Sheriff's Office's first death in the line of duty since 2002.
jennifer.leahy@chron.com
kevin.moran@chron.com
