The Obama administration released an illegal immigrant from El Salvador in 2016 — two months after ICE arrested him for escaping custody — who is now accused of a hit-and-run that left three people fatally wounded in Salisbury, North Carolina.
Javiel Pena Sola, 42, allegedly struck the victims’ vehicle Saturday evening before attempting to flee the scene, authorities said. A police K-9 unit tracked Sola down and took him into custody.
Two of the victims were pronounced gone at the scene. The third was airlifted from the crash site but later succumbed to injuries.
Quindel Woods, whose home sits near the crash site, described the chilling moment he heard screaming when the impact occurred.
“They pulled the man out and as they pulled him out, he started screaming.”
Authorities found Sola’s car in a nearby creek, according to WSOC-TV.
Sola claimed that he snuck across the Arizona border in 2002, the Department of Homeland Security told The Daily Wire.
The illegal immigrant went on to receive convictions for reckless endangerment, failure to stop after an accident involving damage to attended vehicle, and driving without a license in Maryland in 2015, according to DHS. He also had a prior arrest for escaping from custody.
Authorities in Baltimore handed Sola to Immigration and Customs Enforcement after his jailbreak in March 2016, DHS said. The Obama administration released him from a federal immigration detention center two months later.
The reason for his past release from ICE detention is unclear.
ICE lodged a detainer Wednesday with local authorities in North Carolina, asking them to transfer Sola to federal immigration authorities if he is released from local custody.
Assistant Homeland Security Secretary Lauren Bis issued a blistering statement Wednesday pointing directly at the prior administration’s catch-and-release policies.
“This criminal illegal alien from El Salvador is facing felony charges after a hit-and-run that resulted in three fatalities in North Carolina. His criminal history includes prior convictions in 2015 for hit-and-run, reckless endangerment, and driving without a license. Although ICE had arrested him in 2016, the Obama Administration RELEASED him into American communities. These deaths were 100% preventable. Open borders and sanctuary policies have deadly consequences.”
Sola now faces three counts of felony hit-and-run involving serious injury or passing. More charges are expected in the case, WSOC-TV reported.
The names of the victims have yet to be released to the public as authorities ensure proper notification to their families.
