Thread: MD: Hit-and-run calls attention to illegal immigrant issue

Hit-and-run calls attention to illegal immigrant issue

DelMarVaNow.com
January 30, 2011
By Alex E Rich
ACCOMAC, MD

When Angel Perez's vehicle crashed into another last summer on Route 13 in Accomac, he leapt from the vehicle and ran away.

Perez, 32, of Onancock, left the aftermath and the driver of the other vehicle, who had suffered a minor injury.

"He jumped from his vehicle and ran about a block down the street," said Frank Suraci, an assistant Accomack County prosecutor. "An individual uninvolved with the accident was able to make him sit down and wait for police."

Perez is an illegal immigrant without automotive insurance. Authorities say hit-and-run accidents involving such drivers can be a huge problem in areas with a large population of migrant workers.

Unable to pay for the damages or show proof of legal residency, illegal immigrants choose to flee the scene for fear of deportation.

Perez pleaded guilty recently to a felony count of leaving the scene of an accident and a misdemeanor charge of obstruction of justice in connection with the July 23, 2010, collision at the intersection of Lankford Highway and Accomac Road.

He was arrested the day after the crash and had been incarcerated since, testimony showed. Substitute Circuit Court Judge Robert B. Cromwell Jr. sentenced Perez to six years on the two convictions with all but six months suspended on condition of good behavior.

Regardless of the sentence, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement department placed a detainer on Perez, and deportation proceedings will begin.

Drivers like Perez have been highly noticed now by the state.

Late last year, in an effort to decrease the number of illegal immigrant drivers, Virginia decided to deny federal work permit cards as proof of legal status in the United States, which is needed to obtain a driver's license and purchase car insurance.

Others say people are overlooking the human element when it comes to the issue of immigration.

The Rev. Louis A. Timmons of Willis Wharf, who leads Casa Esperanza, a private agency in Wachapreague that donates food and clothing, gives counseling to the immigrant community.

"The issues are not legal and illegal," Timmons said. "These are frightened, hurting people in a strange place that has strange ways. These people are bound to make mistakes. But that only makes them human, not just illegals."

Timmons said some of his clients have lived in the community 8-10 years and have bought houses and made homes here. He said many are struggling to find work while farms, the seafood industry and many of the area's major tomato plants are experiencing severe economic trouble.

"These people come into the store crying," Timmons said. "Sometimes all we can do is sit and listen to them."

Lately, donations to Casa Esperanza have greatly diminished, though many Hispanics volunteer to help with the upkeep and organization of the agency. About 1,500 people a month visit -- sometimes as many as 40 a day.

Many say it's the victims of hit-and-run accidents who must deal with physical and vehicular damage. If reported to police, the crashes trigger a process by insurance companies and the state to fund the damages.

Under Virginia law, all motorists must have uninsured motorist insurance. Tommy Richardson of Hall-Richardson Insurance Inc. in Keller said this should cover the cost of injuries and damages, but the victim of a hit-and-run accident must report the incident to police.

"Insurance companies will try to recover funds from the hit-and-run operator," Richardson said. "They will try to investigate and locate the hit-and-run operator to refund the deductible."

The state code says it is the duty of drivers to stop after accidents "involving injury or death or damage to attended property" and to "render reasonable assistance to any person injured in such accidents."

If the result is injury, death or damages surpassing $1,000, the motorist can be charged with a Class 5 felony.

Still, Timmons laments the eagerness of people to condemn others.

"The world is too ready to cast blame and judgment," he said.

http://www.delmarvanow.com/article/2011 ... 1/1002/rss

Maybe they will wake up and smell the coffee up there. In Florida especially in South Florida we see it on a regular basis. Many of the hit and runs cause serious injury if not death. These people have no respect for our laws at all.