Illegal Alien Pleads Guilty to Killing Colts Linebacker with Vehicle

A Guatemalan national living in the U.S. illegally pleaded guilty on Friday to driving drunk and causing a fatal crash that took the lives of Indianapolis Colts linebacker Edwin Jackson and his driver.

Manuel Orrego-Savala, 37, entered a guilty plea to two counts of causing death to a person while driving under the influence of alcohol with a blood alcohol content (BAC) of .15 or greater, the Indy Star reported.

Orrego-Savala reportedly drove his Ford F-150 pickup truck onto the emergency shoulder on I-70 in Indianapolis on February 4, fatally striking Jackson and his Uber driver, Jeffrey Monroe, while they were stopped on the side of the road.

The Marion County Coroner’s Office pronounced both men dead at the scene. Police said Orrego-Savala gave officers an alias before attempting to flee the scene on foot.

Once the Guatemalan national was arrested and booked into Marion County Jail, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) placed a detainer on him.

The crash got so much attention that President Trump took notice. Trump called the illegal alien’s actions “disgraceful,” urging Democrats to get tougher on illegal immigration:

So disgraceful that a person illegally in our country killed @Colts linebacker Edwin Jackson. This is just one of many such preventable tragedies. We must get the Dems to get tough on the Border, and with illegal immigration, FAST!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 6, 2018

Orrego-Savala entered the U.S illegally from Guatemala in 2004 and had been deported two times—once in 2007 and once in 2009, according to detectives.

The illegal alien from Guatemala initially faced four counts, but he took a plea deal where he agreed to enter a guilty plea for two counts if the court dropped two other counts of failing to remain at the scene of an accident.

Orrego-Savala is due back in court for sentencing on September 14. He faces a prison sentence of up to 16 years and a $20,000 fine, the Associated Press reported.

Federal immigration officials have also filed a separate charge against Orrego-Savala, accusing him of illegally re-entering the country as a previously deported illegal alien. Orrego-Savala also faces charges in another county for allegedly using an alias in 2017 to get away with driving without a license.