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Myrick pushes immigration reform in wake of deadly 485 crash

05:53 PM EST on Monday, November 21, 2005
By JOHN ROMERO / 6NEWS


Friends and family said goodbye Monday to a UNC Charlotte student who was killed in a wreck on Interstate 485 by a self confessed drunk driver.

The funeral for Min Soon Chang was held Monday. Chang was killed Friday night by a drunk driver. While friends and family mourned others were outraged by the fact that the man who allegedly killed him was reportedly in the country illegally.

The victim has been buried.

“He's not gone, he's living inside me,� Chang’s brother said. “I won't let him down. I'll live my life, and his life with me.�

But the questions haven't been put to rest. Jorge Hernandez allegedly was drunk when he caused the accident. He reportedly said he's in the country illegally.

Congresswoman Sue Myrick says the wreck is a wake up call for immigration reform.

“It’s so senseless, it's so senseless,� Myrick said. “The issue is that you're legal, or you're illegal."

Last July, Myrick pushed a crackdown on drunk driving in the immigrant community after Scott Gardner was allegedly killed by a drunk driver who was in the country illegally. This time she's pushing for border control.

“Building a fence all the way across the whole border of the United States, putting military on the border,� said Myrick.

Angeles Ortega from the Latin American coalition worries about a backlash against law abiding immigrants.

“Yes he is undocumented, but the bigger issue is the drunk driver,� Ortega said.

The accident is a wake up call, Ortega says, to talk about drunk driving in the Latino community.

Hernandez makes his first court appearance Tuesday.