Federal immigration agents Tuesday arrested a suspected drunken driver who was free on bail after being charged with plowing into a Northern California trailer home and killing three sleeping family members.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokesman Paul Prince said Ismael Huazo-Jardinez, 33, is suspected of living in the country illegally. Prince said U.S. Border Patrol agents previously arrested Huazo-Jardinez in Arizona in 2011 and he voluntarily agreed to return to his native Mexico.
Prince said immigration officials don’t know when Huazo-Jardinez reentered the United States and declined to say where agents arrested him Tuesday.
Huazo-Jardinez was first arrested Saturday night in the rural community of Knights Landing outside Sacramento. The California Highway Patrol said Huazo-Jardinez was intoxicated and speeding when the truck he was driving missed a sharp curve and slammed into the Pacheco family’s live-in trailer.
The accident killed Jose Pacheco, 38, Anna Pacheco, 34, and their son Angel Pacheco, 10. The Pachecos’ 11-year-old daughter remains hospitalized in critical condition.
Huazo-Jardinez was released from the Sutter County Jail on $300,000 bail Sunday after a judge refused the CHP’s request for $1-million bail, the Sacramento Bee reported. Jail records show Huazo-Jardinez listed a Yuba City address as his residence.
Prince said Huazo-Jardinez will remain in federal custody until his immigration status is determined.
