An illegal immigrant with numerous run-ins with the law who was ordered deported six years ago stands accused of killing a young Virginia college student in a horrific car crash, according to a local report.
Honduran national Elvis Jamir Cruz-Ferrera, 18, is charged with involuntary manslaughter in connection with the February death of Old Dominion University student Lauryn Ni’Kole Leonard, 19, according to the Virginia Pilot.
“She was definitely one of a kind,” said Leonard’s brother Erick Hargrove, 31. “A loving person. Friendly. Sociable. Beautiful, inside and out.”
Honduran national Elvis Jamir Cruz-Ferrera, 18, came to the US via the southern border as a child. Chesapeake Police DepartmentThe night Leonard was killed, she was driving her gray 2000 Toyota Solara on Interstate 664 in Chesapeake back to her apartment in Norfolk around 6 p.m. when Cruz-Ferrara smashed into her, causing both drivers to lose control and hit the guardrails, according to the outlet.
Leonard was killed immediately upon impact, and despite Cruz-Ferrara’s red 2008 Pontiac Vibe overturning, he survived the crash and was treated at a local hospital for minor injuries.
An immigration judge had ordered Cruz-Ferrera’s deportation back in 2018, during a hearing he didn’t appear for, after he crossed the border illegally, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) said.
Cruz-Ferrera had several run-ins with cops over traffic stops in the months leading up to the crash, according to the local outlet. However, authorities didn’t investigate his immigration status at the time.
Old Dominion University student Lauryn Ni’Kole Leonard, 19, was killed on impact during the February car collision caused by the illegal immigrant. Erick Hargrove
The scene of the February collision showing Cruz-Ferrera’s car overturned and Lauryn Ni’Kole Leonard’s vehicle totaled on the side of the road. Virginia State PoliceIn November of last year, Cruz-Ferrera was caught driving recklessly — going 85 mph in a 60 mph zone — near where the fatal crash occurred.
He was also twice cited for driving without a license.
Hargrove said his sister might still be alive if Cruz-Ferrera had been deported.
“I think it’s crazy,” Hargrove said. “Like, how come nobody looked into it? … She’s minding her own business and you come out of nowhere and just turned my life upside down.”
“I don’t want to say anything that sounds like far-right or far-left,” he said. “But I would just say that it’s a possibility that this wouldn’t have happened if the deportation happened when it was supposed to.”
Leonard’s brother Erick Hargrove, 31, described her as, “a loving person. Friendly. Sociable. Beautiful, inside and out.” T.E. Cooke-Overton Funeral HomeCruz-Ferrera has an immigration hold on his case and is being held without bond. He faces up to ten years in prison.
Cruz-Ferrera crossed the southern border into McAllen, Texas, in October 2016 when he was 11-years-old.
After being processed by border agents, he was transferred to an ICE facility in San Antonio where he was briefly held before being given a court date and released.
For the last four years Cruz-Ferrera had been living in the Virginia area with his mom and siblings and completed school up to the 11th grade. He also worked at a local Wendy’s for a month before the crash.
Hours before Leonard was killed, she was texting her family about the job she had just landed to conduct new student orientations on campus.
“She had the personality for it,” Hargrove said. “It would have been good.”
