ICE gets involved in fatal crash that killed 3 people in North Carolina, feds say

https://www.charlotteobserver.com/ne...316623040.html

By Mark Price

Updated July 24, 2026 4:27 AM

The hit-and-run crash that killed three people in North Carolina has drawn the attention of immigration officials, who say the suspect is an unlicensed driver with a previous hit-and-run conviction, according to ICE. Getty Images

The hit-and-run crash that killed three people in North Carolina has gotten the attention of federal immigration officials, who say the suspect is an unlicensed driver in the country illegally, according to ICE.

Javiel Pena Sola, of Salisbury, has been charged with three counts of felony hit-and-run involving serious injury or death in connection with the July 18 crash, the Salisbury Police Department reports. He is being held without bond.

ICE has lodged an immigration detainer in his case, asking N.C. officials to keep him in custody for potential deportation proceedings, federal officials said in a July 22 news release.

Pena Sola, 42, is accused of fleeling the scene after he fatally injured three people in a wreck around 10:45 p.m. Saturday on N.C. 150 in Salisbury, police said. He crashed again 500 feet away, then fled on foot, court documents report.

Search dogs were called to the scene and found Pena Sola in a creek bed, officials said. The vehicle he was driving belonged to a relative, court documents report.

The three people who died have been identified as David Garcia-Obrajero, 63, Homero Pineda Delgado, 47 and Esteban Salazar Hernandez, 32, Salisbury police said. They were traveling in a Kia at the time of the crash, officials said. ICE alleges Pena Sola is from El Salvador and entered the country illegally in 2002 via the Arizona border.

“Sola’s criminal history includes prior convictions for reckless endangerment, failure to stop after accident involving damage to attended vehicle, and driving without a license in Maryland in July 2015, and an arrest for escaping from custody,” the Department of Homeland Security reported. Pena Sola vanished after being released from custody in 2016, officials said.