Advertisement Undocumented immigrant arrested for DUI, fatal hit-and-run ICE officials say suspect in jail is in country illegally Share Shares Copy Link Copy

Margarito Nava-Luna, 34, was hit by a car while walking near 104th and Manderson and was left to die, investigators said.The incident occurred around 2:30 a.m. Saturday. Officers said he was walking on the west side of Manderson, where there is no sidewalk, when a car crossed the center line and hit him. Friends on Facebook describe Nava-Luna as a hardworking father and husband.While police canvassed a neighborhood looking for the hit-and-run driver, someone reported a possible drunken driver roaming near 144th and Fort, which prompted a countywide search.Soon after, a Douglas County Sheriff's Office deputy arrested Edwin Elvir-Palma, 28, near 134th and Camden."Prior to him spotting the vehicle, he was flagged down by another motorist who said that a man had been following them and harassing her and her passenger," Chief Deputy Tom Wheeler said. "Making every turn that she was making, and she was concerned about what was going on."Wheeler said Elvir-Palma was tested at nearly three times the legal limit for alcohol."(The) driver was very intoxicated, had difficulty speaking," Wheeler said.Elvir-Palma reportedly also had no driver's license and is an undocumented immigrant from Honduras."He had been deported on a previous occasion back to Honduras," Wheeler said. "And we matched his name up with the fingerprint cards that were on file with the FBI. Not sure which channels or routes he chose, but certainly he was back in the country."Omaha police later connected Elvir-Palma to the fatal hit-and-run. Police said evidence on the SUV he was driving indicates the vehicle struck Nava-Luna.Elvir-Palma reportedly told investigators he and the victim had been at Bogies Bar and Grill that night, which is down the street from the scene of the crash."It's certainly good fortune that the broadcast was put out that deputies were looking for this vehicle, obviously with the drunk driver even not knowing about what else was occurring," Wheeler said. "It was important to get this person off the street if they were drinking and driving."No charges have been filed in the case. Elvir-Palma has an immigration hold and hasn't gone before a judge. His family told KETV NewsWatch 7 that he is from Honduras and has several children in Omaha.A friend of Nava-Luna created a GoFundMe page to support the family. Those interested can donate here: https://www.gofundme.com/r5zt2gv8.