Illegal Immigrant Pleads Guilty in Hit-and-Run Case

An illegal immigrant has been sentenced to just one year in prison for the hit-and-run death of a South Carolina college student. Rosali Fernandez-Cruz, who pleaded guilty, is expected to be released in March 2026 after serving a year behind bars.

According to records from the South Carolina Department of Corrections, Fernandez-Cruz was admitted to the state’s correctional facility on August 14, 2025. His guilty plea was for the most serious charge of hit-and-run resulting in death, as confirmed by Robert Kittle, the communications director for the state Attorney General’s Office.

Notably, there was no plea deal in this case, and prosecutors made the judge aware of other traffic-related offenses linked to Fernandez-Cruz, Kittle added.

Details of the Incident

Fernandez-Cruz, originally from El Salvador, received a surprisingly lenient sentence for the April 2 death of 21-year-old Nathaniel Baker in Columbia. Baker was a junior at the University of South Carolina and part of the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity.

Authorities reported that Fernandez-Cruz failed to yield to Baker, who was riding a motorcycle, before striking him and fleeing the scene. Baker’s family was consulted before the sentencing, expressing a desire for the case to remain out of the public eye. They ultimately agreed to the guilty plea and the sentence, according to Kittle.

Background Information

Before the fatal incident, law enforcement noted that Fernandez-Cruz was already wanted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). He had previously been arrested by U.S. Border Patrol agents in Texas back in December 2016.

In September 2018, an immigration judge in Charlotte, North Carolina, ordered Fernandez-Cruz to be deported to El Salvador. Following his release from prison, he will be taken into ICE custody to begin the deportation process.