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Police: Suspected Drunk Driver Who Killed NFL Player Is Twice-Deported Illegal Immigrant

Edwin Jackson / Getty
February 5, 2018

The suspected drunk driver who killed Indianapolis Colts linebacker Edwin Jackson in a crash early Sunday morning is an illegal immigrant who has been deported twice from the U.S., police said Monday.

Indiana State Police revealed that Manuel Orrego-Savala, 37, who had been deported in 2007 and 2009, was the driver of an F-150 truck that hit and killed both Jackson, 26, and Jeffrey Monroe, 54, Fox News reported.

"State police investigators are working with U.S. Federal Immigration Officials and they have placed a hold on Orrego-Savala," police said in a statement.

Investigators believe Monroe was working as an Uber driver that night and Jackson was his passenger. The incident occurred around 4 a.m. on Sunday when, according to reports, Jackson became sick and Monroe pulled over to the emergency shoulder of Interstate 70 in Indiana, where they were hit.

A state trooper responding to the scene accidentally struck the body of one of the victims in the center lane while investigating.

Police said that Orrego-Savala attempted to flee the scene of the crash in his badly-damaged truck before the responding officer arrested him. The suspect then gave police the alias of Alex Cabrera Gonsales.

Orrego-Savala was driving without a license and is believed to have a blood alcohol level of .15 at the time of the crash, according to jail records viewed by Fox News. He is currently being held at the Marion County Jail, and police are expected to file criminal charges.

It is unknown when Orrego-Savala reentered the United States after being deported in 2009, although Indiana State Police Sgt. John Perrine told Fox News that the suspect has used the Gonsales alias enough times "to create a paper trail."

Following Sunday's crash, Indiana Rep. Todd Rokita (R.) called for more action to stop illegal immigration.

"The loss of life at the hands of illegal immigrant criminals should make all Hoosiers sad and ultimately angry," he said in a statement. "We must do more to get these dangerous illegal immigrant criminals off of our streets, and guarantee this never happens again by building a wall, ending sanctuary cities, and stopping illegal immigration once and for all."