A twice-deported illegal immigrant with multiple DUI convictions allegedly caused a six-car pileup involving a school bus on Interstate 5 in Lacey, Washington, last Thursday, just days after local authorities declined to honor a federal immigration detainer.
Juan Hernandez-Santos, a 40-year-old Mexican national, lost control of his semi-truck and jackknifed into traffic, sending four people to the hospital. The school bus involved in the collision was empty of children at the time of the accident.
According to the Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement had lodged a detainer with local Washington authorities requesting notification before Hernandez-Santos was released from custody. Those authorities ignored the request and released him.
“This dangerous illegal alien has a criminal history including multiple DUIs, possessing a controlled substance, and two prior removals from the U.S.,” Assistant Homeland Security Secretary Tricia McLaughlin stated. “He was a walking public safety threat and illegally was driving an 18-wheeler when he caused a six car pile-up involving a school bus on the highway in Washington.”
McLaughlin emphasized the potential for greater tragedy. “Thankfully, no children were in the bus. This story could have had a very different tragic ending. The sanctuary politicians in Washington failed once again to protect American citizens by refusing to honor our ICE arrest detainer.”
The facts of Hernandez-Santos’s record paint a troubling picture. He was first deported in 2005 and again in 2006. He subsequently reentered the United States illegally. In 2008, he was arrested in Los Angeles for driving without a license, followed a month later by arrests for DUI and hit-and-run with property damage. In 2018, he faced charges for possession of a controlled substance. Two years later, he was arrested for his second DUI, again in Los Angeles.
At the time of last week’s crash, Hernandez-Santos was operating a commercial vehicle without a commercial driver’s license, without insurance, and without a valid medical card.
“In this situation, there is a lot of negligence involved,” State Trooper Kameron Watts said. “We actually dispatched some commercial vehicle enforcement officers to the scene to do a full-blown inspection of the truck itself and the paperwork all semi-truck drivers are supposed to have on them.”
This incident represents one of several recent crashes involving illegal immigrants operating commercial trucks. The pattern has prompted federal action. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has begun coordinating with local authorities in multiple states to detain illegal immigrant truckers at weigh stations as part of the current administration’s enforcement campaign.
The case raises fundamental questions about the implementation of sanctuary policies and their impact on public safety. When local jurisdictions decline to cooperate with federal immigration authorities, even in cases involving individuals with extensive criminal histories, the potential consequences extend beyond immigration policy into matters of highway safety and community protection.
The Department of Transportation has indicated it is monitoring these developments closely, though the full scope of any forthcoming regulatory response remains unclear.
What is clear is this: a man who had been removed from the country twice, who had accumulated multiple serious traffic violations, and who lacked the proper credentials to operate a commercial vehicle was behind the wheel of an 18-wheeler on a major interstate highway. The collision he allegedly caused could have resulted in the deaths of schoolchildren. That it did not is a matter of timing and fortune, not policy or prudent governance.
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