(FixThisNation.com) – A man from Mexico who had allegedly entered the United States illegally has been arrested for having crashed his vehicle into 27-year-old Washington State Patrol Trooper Christopher M. Gadd who died from the hit.
Gadd had been watching for DUI drivers and speeding when the three-vehicle crash that resulted in his death occurred on Interstate 5 at close to 3 a.m. on Saturday. Following an investigation into the crash it was determined that the driver of the SUV had been Raul Benitez Santana, 32, who had been going southbound on the interstate before the vehicle veered. His vehicle then hit the trooper’s patrol car.
The Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office has put out a report noting that the SUV was traveling at very high speeds when it crashed into the police vehicle.
On Tuesday in Seattle, FOX 13 noted in a report that according to the court documents Santana had bloodshot eyes at the time of his arrest and that he had revealed to law enforcement that he had been smoking marijuana and drinking alcohol prior to starting to drive.
Following his arrest the man was booked into the Snohomish County Jail. The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Seattle Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) division has also placed an immigration detainer on the man. An ICE spokesperson noted that this is one of the operations the division is responsible for and that they often place immigration detainers against noncitizens who have been brought into custody by police. An immigration detainer essentially refers to a request from ICE to law enforcement to sent them information about the release of a removable noncitizen as soon as it is possible so that the subject can be removed to their home country.
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