Charly Haley, 7:06 p.m. CDT September 13, 2016



Authorities are questioning whether a man charged in a crash that killed a 12-year-old Des Moines girl and injured four others is in the U.S. illegally.

U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, sent a letter Tuesday to the Department of Homeland Security requesting the immigration history of Fernando Lopez Aguilar.

Lopez Aguilar is accused of running a stop sign at Southeast Sixth Street and Bell Avenue and causing a three-vehicle crash Thursday in Des Moines.

He was charged with homicide by reckless driving Monday after 12-year-old Lea Phann died Sunday night from injuries she suffered in the crash.

Lopez Aguilar was already being held in Polk County Jail on numerous other charges in connection to the crash.

In a news release Tuesday evening, Grassley's office said Lopez Aguilar had received deferred deportation protection under the Obama Administration’s executive action on immigration. He has since fallen out of status with the program and remains in the country illegally, the news release said.

Lopez Aguilar is in custody at the Polk County Jail on a $335,000 bond.

Polk County Sheriff's Sgt. Brandon Bracelin, a spokesman for the jail, confirmed that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has asked to be notified by Polk County if Lopez Aguilar is able to post bail.

ICE will then decide whether to detain Lopez Aguilar in the jail, Bracelin said.

Court records state Lopez Aguilar is a citizen of Mexico.

Further confirmation on his status in the U.S. was not immediately available.

http://www.desmoinesregister.com/sto...rash/90332004/