Charly Haley

chaley@dmreg.com

Authorities are questioning whether a man charged in a crash that killed a 12-year-old Des Moines girl and injured four others is in the U.S. illegally.

U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, chairman of the Senate's judiciary committee, sent a letter Tuesday to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security requesting the immigration history of Fernando Fernel Lopez Aguilar.

Lopez Aguilar, 18, is accused of running a stop sign at Southeast Sixth Street and Bell Avenue, causing a three-vehicle crash Thursday in Des Moines. Court records show Lopez Aguilar knew the brakes in his car didn't work, but he drove the vehicle anyway.

Lopez Aguilar was charged with homicide by reckless driving Monday after 12-year-old Lea Phann died Sunday night from injuries she suffered in the crash.

He had already been arrested on numerous other charges in connection to the crash.

In a news release Tuesday evening, Grassley's office said Lopez Aguilar had received deferred deportation protection under the Obama administration’s executive action on immigration. He has since fallen out of status with the program and remains in the country illegally, the news release said.

Lopez Aguilar is being held at Polk County Jail on a $335,000 cash bond.

Polk County Sheriff's Sgt. Brandon Bracelin, a spokesman for the jail, confirmed that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has asked to be notified by Polk County authorities if Lopez Aguilar is able to post bail.

ICE will then decide whether to keep Lopez Aguilar in the jail on an immigration hold, Bracelin said. He said he could not comment on Lopez Aguilar's legal status in the U.S.

An ICE spokesperson could not be reached for comment Tuesday night.

Court records state Lopez Aguilar is a citizen of Mexico. Further confirmation on his legal status in the U.S. was not available Tuesday evening.

Police said Lopez Aguilar was speeding westbound on Bell Avenue at about 3:15 p.m. Thursday when he ran a stop sign and struck a pickup truck, which was traveling northbound on Southeast Sixth Street. The impact sent the pickup airborne and into an SUV on Southeast Sixth.

Lopez Aguilar was not intoxicated at the time of the crash. Police said he was driving at an "excessive speed," but the exact speed has not yet been determined.

Lopez Aguilar's car ended up on a lawn near the intersection, while the other two vehicles stopped in the middle of Southeast Sixth. The SUV’s roof was mostly torn off, and tires from the pickup ended up several feet away from the vehicle.

Lea Phann was in the SUV, which was driven by Sos Phann, 67, police said.

Sos Phann, a relative of Lea Phann, was still hospitalized Monday with injuries from the crash, police said. He was initially admitted to the hospital in critical condition, and his medical condition was not available Monday.

Kholey Phann, 7, another passenger in the SUV, was also injured, along with Jackie Laws, 59, and Frances Jordan, 18, who were both in the pickup. All three have been released from the hospital.

Lopez Aguilar was not injured in the crash, police said.

An 8-month-old baby was in Lopez Aguilar's car, properly restrained in a car seat and uninjured, police said. Court records show Lopez Aguilar's girlfriend and two daughters were in the car with him.

Driver knew brakes didn't work before fatal crash, court records say

Lopez Aguilar was arrested Thursday night and charged with operating without a driver's license, no insurance, child endangerment and three counts of serious injury by reckless driving. One of the charges of serious injury by reckless driving was upgraded to homicide by reckless driving on Monday after Lea Phann's death, police said.

Lea Phann was in seventh grade at Brody Middle School in Des Moines. She had celebrated her 12th birthday Sept. 3, the Saturday before the crash.

"If true (that Lopez Aguilar is in the U.S. illegally), Lea Phann died at the hands of someone who broke our laws and should not have been allowed to remain in the United States," Grassley wrote in his letter to Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson.

"It is unfortunate that a young child's life may have been taken when the government could have done more to protect her and her family," Grassley wrote.

Grassley's letter asks several questions about Lopez Aguilar's immigration and criminal history, including how and when Lopez Aguilar entered the U.S., how many times he has encountered law enforcement and whether ICE has contacted the Phann family and other victims of the crash. The letter asks for answers to these questions "as soon as possible."

According to court records, Lopez Aguilar's only other criminal offense in Iowa appears to be a citation for possession of drug paraphernalia June 30 in Perry. Police did not take Lopez Aguilar into custody as a result of that citation. He appeared in court regarding the case, and his next court date was scheduled for Oct. 18, according to court records.

Earlier this year, authorities and advocates asked similar questions about a different driver involved in another crash that killed an Iowan.

Sarah Root, a 21-year-old Council Bluffs woman died in a car crash in January, became a rallying point for advocates of strengthening U.S. borders when the man who caused the accident disappeared after posting bond.

Eswin G. Mejia, 19, was in the U.S. illegally, authorities said.

The story of Sarah Root, held up in Trump's acceptance speech

Police said Mejia was driving drunk and street racing when his vehicle slammed into Root’s SUV. Mejia was charged with motor vehicular homicide-driving under the influence. Three days after posting bond, he failed to show up for a mandatory drug screening.

This prompted an international manhunt for Mejia, who has still not been found.

Omaha police have said they reached out to ICE officials at least four times to obtain an immigration hold, also called a detainer, on Mejia before he could post bond and be released from jail. An ICE spokesman told The Des Moines Register earlier this year that the agency had no record of the police department contacting the ICE sub-office in Omaha or its field office in St. Paul, Minn.

Mejia’s bond was $50,000, but he needed to post only 10 percent to gain his release.

Root's parents have spoken about the case before members of U.S. Congress.

To help the Phann family, a GoFundMe.com account is available online, accepting donations to help with medical expenses.