Widow of Uber driver killed in crash wants husband removed from Braun campaign ad

The widow of an Uber driver killed by a drunken-driving suspect is calling on U.S. Senate candidate Mike Braun to remove her husband's name and photo from his campaign ad.

Deborah Monroe, wife of Jeffrey Monroe, told IndyStar Thursday that the crash thrust her private family into the spotlight as politicians focus on illegal immigration rather than drunken driving, which she considers to be the larger issue.

Manuel Orrego-Savala, a Guatemalan citizen who was living in the U.S. illegally, is charged in connection with the Feb. 4 deaths of Monroe and Indianapolis Colts linebacker Edwin Jackson.

Monroe was shocked the first time she saw the advertisement, which she said uses her husband's name and photo without the family's permission.

"I thought I was going to be sick," she said. "And then I started getting mad."

In television and radio advertisements released Tuesday, U.S. Senate candidate Mike Braun, a Republican from Jasper, uses the Feb. 4 crash to call for stricter immigration policies.

"Here illegally, Manuel Orrego-Savala was deported twice, and had multiple convictions and arrests," Braun says in the 30-second ad. "Drunk, he hit and killed Jeffrey Monroe and Colts Linebacker Edwin Jackson. It was a senseless tragedy, and it never should have happened.

"Politicians in Washington have ignored this issue for far too long. We must build the wall, ban sanctuary cities, and put an end to chain migration. There are lives at stake."

► Related: Orrego-Savala's attorney files motion to toss out on-scene confession

► More: Uber driver, forgotten man in a politicized tragedy, was a Colts fan who bridged a racial divide

Monroe said her family had no idea the ad was coming.

"For them to use his picture, his name without even the courtesy of a phone call," she said, "that's disgusting."

Monroe said she and her husband, beyond being private citizens, were private people. Jackson, by virtue of being an NFL player, was a public figure, so it makes more sense for his name to be used, she said.

"The Jackson family doesn't live here, so they don't have to look at (the ad)," she said. "I do live here. This is my community."

Monroe has called Braun's campaign several times, but her calls have not been returned, she said.

In an emailed statement to IndyStar, Braun campaign spokesman Josh Kelley did not address questions regarding contact with Monroe's family or any plans to change or remove the ad.

"Like President Trump, Mike Braun believes that Washington needs to stop illegal immigration, build the wall, and keep criminal illegals like the one that killed Jeffrey Monroe and Edwin Jackson out of Indiana," Kelley said in a written statement. "Mike and his family are praying for the families of the victims."

► More: Why the suspect in Edwin Jackson's death wasn't deported a year ago

► More: Marion County prosecutor assails Trump for politicizing Edwin Jackson, Uber driver deaths

Braun isn't the only politician to use the crash as a talking point. President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence both tweeted about Jackson's death in the days following the crash, but never mentioned Jeffrey Monroe.

And neither mentioned the death of another Uber driver, Blair Edmonds, in a head-on crash in Lawrence the same night, Monroe said.

Police said Edmonds and 40-year-old Jimmy Brown Jr. were killed around 3 a.m. in the 7800 block of East 46th Street when a westbound vehicle crossed the center line and struck them. Police believe alcohol to be a factor in the crash.

Orrego-Savala's blood-alcohol content was nearly three times the legal limit of 0.08 percent when the truck he was driving veered into the emergency shoulder of I-70, police said, striking and killing the men around an hour after the crash that killed Edmonds.

When officers arrived to the scene, Orrego-Savala presented a Mexican ID card with the name Alex Cabrera-Gonsales, authorities said. It was later revealed that Orrego-Savala was a Guatemalan citizen who had been deported twice.

Because of Orrego-Savala's immigration status, Monroe said Edmonds' death was overlooked and her husband was thrust into the political vortex. She believes the focus should be on the state's need for stricter drunken-driving punishments.

"Immigration didn't kill him," Monroe said, "drunk driving did."

With her husband's birthday coming up on Feb. 23, Monroe said she's appreciated the "significant" outpouring of support from friends, family and strangers alike in the weeks since her husband's passing.

Monroe said she takes comfort in the 26 years they spent together, but acknowledges her life will never be the same.

"I knew he loved me," she said. "We were just meant to be together."

Call IndyStar reporter Holly Hays at (317) 444-6156. Follow her on Twitter: @hollyvhays.