Savannah, Georgia– A Guatemalan driver trying to flee a traffic stop in Georgia by federal immigration officers crashed into another vehicle, killing a teacher who was headed to work, authorities and school officials said.
Oscar Vasquez Lopez, the driver accused of causing Monday’s crash outside Savannah, remained jailed Tuesday on charges including vehicular homicide, reckless driving and driving without a valid license. Lopez, 38, is in the United States illegally, according to Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Immigration officers are looking for Lopez to serve an immigration judge’s 2024 deportation order, Lindsay Williams, a spokeswoman for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, said Tuesday, noting that Lopez has no other criminal history.
Williams said Lopez stopped when ICE officers used sirens and blue lights to conduct a traffic stop, but then drove away as they approached his car. Lopez made a U-turn and stopped at a stop sign before crashing, ICE said in a news release.
Asked if ICE officers pursued Lopez, Williams said: “They chased him? I wouldn’t say that. They followed him until he crashed.”
Williams said he doesn’t know how far Lopez ran before he crashed.
Savannah-Chatham County School District officials identified the slain woman as Linda Davis, a special education teacher at Herman W. Hess K-8 School.
Headteacher Alona McMullen said Davis was loved by the school community.
“She has dedicated her career to ensuring that every child feels supported, valued, and able to succeed,” McMullen said in a press release. “Her kindness, patience, and enthusiasm created a conducive environment for her students and inspired those around her.”
The accident occurred less than half a mile (0.8 km) from the school. Although students were off on Monday for Presidents’ Day, teachers returned to work. School system spokeswoman Sheila Blanco said Davis was driving to school when she was killed.
Chatham County Jail records did not list an attorney for Lopez as of Tuesday or show whether he had been granted bail. His case also has not yet appeared in online court records.
Federal immigration officers have faced increased scrutiny for their aggressive tactics during the Trump administration’s nationwide crackdown on illegal immigration, especially since they shot and killed Rene Judd and Alex Peretti. In Minneapolis.
In a statement, Tricia McLaughlin, a spokeswoman for the Department of Homeland Security, blamed “politicians and the media who continually smear ICE officers and encourage those here illegally to resist arrest.”
Chatham County Police said in a statement that they were not aware of the ICE operation and traffic stop prior to the fatal crash.
Local officials wondered whether Davis’ death could have been prevented.
“I have always been and continue to be very concerned about ICE activities in cities, especially where they are not coordinating or communicating,” Savannah Mayor Van Johnson, a former police officer, told reporters Tuesday.
“Why was this person wanted, did this entail the end result?” Johnson said.
Chester Ellis, chairman of the Chatham County Board of Commissioners, noted that county police are limited by a policy that allows vehicle pursuits only when officers believe a suspect has committed or is attempting to commit a violent felony.
“The no-pursuit policy is more to help protect our citizens than anything else,” Ellis said. WTOC-TV. “So there may have been a different way to trap the person so they couldn’t run, or so they couldn’t cause the accident that killed Dr. Davis.”