An illegal immigrant who sneaked into the United States from Mexico seven times was driving drunk and speeding down a Nebraska highway when he crashed his van last week, killing a passenger sitting in the back of the vehicle, prosecutors said.
Douglas County prosecutors said in court Tuesday Nemias Garcia-Velasco, 32, was deported in 2009 and 2011 and "voluntarily returned" to Mexico five times in 2005, the Omaha World-Herald reported. He was convicted of making a false claim to U.S. citizenship in 2005.
Garcia-Velasco's bail was set at $2 million. Prosecutor Ryan Lindberg in court on Tuesday requested a high bail for the illegal immigrant because he feared the man might flee the country -- again.
"If this is someone who bonds out, I don’t think we’ll see Mr. Garcia-Velasco again," Lindberg said.
Garcia-Velasco was speeding down an interstate in Omaha about 1 p.m. last Wednesday when he lost control of his 2001 Dodge Ram van, slamming into a guard rail before the vehicle rolled over and caught fire, officials said.
