A Mexican national living in the United States illegally is being held on $1 million bail after being arrested on suspicion of fatally crashing his car into a Washington State Patrol trooper.
Officer Christopher M. Gadd, 27, was on the lookout for speeding and drunk drivers after a three-vehicle crash on Interstate 5 around 3 a.m. Saturday. He was hit and died.
An investigation into the crash revealed that an SUV driven by Raul Benitez Santana, 33, was heading south on the interstate when it veered off the road and collided with a police officer’s patrol car.
The Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office reportedly discovered that the SUV was traveling at a high rate of speed when it collided with the police vehicle.
Washington state trooper dies in three-vehicle crash while searching for drunk driver
Washington State Patrol Trooper Christopher M. Gadd, 27, served for two and a half years. He is survived by his wife and daughter, parents, sister and other family members. (Washington State Patrol)
on tuesday, FOX 13 in Seattle Santana had bloodshot eyes and admitted to police that he had been drinking alcohol and smoking marijuana before getting behind the wheel of his car, the report said, obtaining court documents.
Santana was booked into the Snohomish County Jail, where the Seattle Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) division of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) placed an immigration detainer on the Mexican national.
A spokesperson for ICE told FOX News Digital: “As one of the operating offices associated with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, ERO Seattle is dedicated to assisting those who are arrested for criminal activity and detained by state or local law enforcement agencies. “Immigration authorities are being filed against non-citizens who have been arrested.” “Immigrant detainees are detainees who are required to notify ICE as soon as possible before a deportable non-citizen is released to allow ERO to assume custody for possible deportation of the subject to his or her home country in accordance with federal law. This is a request from ICE to state or local law enforcement agencies.”
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Seattle Enforcement Removal Operations (ERO) captured a Mexican national who was in the U.S. illegally on Saturday night, killing him in a confrontation with a Washington State Patrol officer. (ice)
ICE officials confirmed that Santana is a Mexican citizen who entered the United States illegally at an unknown date.
He first encountered ERO Seattle after being arrested on October 28, 2013 at South Correctional Facility in Burien, WA for failure to appear in court for driving with a suspended license.
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The driver accused of hitting Gadd’s police car has been identified as a 33-year-old Mexican national. (Washington State Patrol)
In May 2013, Santana was convicted of possession of less than 40 grams of marijuana and sentenced to 90 days in prison, 87 days of which were suspended.
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Then, on October 6, 2014, Santana was sentenced to 90 days in jail for driving with a suspended license, and in May 2019 he was arrested for domestic violence.
