Drunken driver previously deported pleads guilty in deaths of Colts player, Uber driver

Show Caption Hide Caption Edwin Jackson death reignites debate on immigration in the U.S. Indianapolis Colts player Edwin Jackson and his Uber driver were killed by a motorist believed to be driving drunk. However, the suspect's legal status has reignited debate over U.S. immigration by Donald Trump and others.

A man charged with drunken driving that caused the deaths of an Indianapolis Colts player and an Uber driver pleaded guilty Friday in Marion County.

Manuel Orrego-Savala faces 10 to 16 years in jail after pleading guilty to two counts of causing death of another person when operating a vehicle with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.15 percent or more.

The crash killed Indianapolis Colts linebacker Edwin Jackson and Uber driver Jeffrey Monroe.

Sentencing is scheduled Sept. 14 in Marion Superior Court.

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Orrego-Savala, a 37-year-old Guatemalan, also is facing federal charges of illegal re-entry of a previously deported alien.

His arrest after the crash prompted a tweet from President Trump, who pointed toward the tragedy as a reason to support tougher immigration laws.

Orrego-Savala was arrested early on Feb. 4 after Indiana State Police say the Ford F-150 pickup truck he was driving careened into the emergency shoulder of I-70.

After Orrego-Savala's arrest, a U.S. Department of Homeland Security agent began reviewing his file, according to a criminal complaint.

The complaint detailed Orrego-Savala's numerous aliases, including the name given at the scene of the crash, Alex Cabrera. His other aliases include variations on the spelling of Orrego-Savala.

The agent confirmed Orrego-Savala's identity by submitting his fingerprints into a federal database, the complaint says.

Orrego-Savala is believed to have entered the country illegally on or around July 1, 2004, Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokeswoman Nicole Alberico said in February. He was convicted of driving under the influence in Redwood City, Calif., in 2005, Alberico said.

In October 2006, he was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement in San Francisco and deported in January 2007, according to the complaint.

A little more than two years later, in March 2009, he was again arrested in San Francisco and then deported that May.

It's still unclear when he re-entered the U.S. or traveled to Indiana.

Boone County officials said Orrego-Savala, under the name Alex Cabrera-Gonsales, pleaded guilty in 2017 to driving without ever having received a license. The sheriff's office did not report him to ICE at that time because it was not legally required to do so for that offense, according to a news release.

In February, Orrego-Savala was charged in Boone Superior Court with four felony counts related to identity deception.

Contact Mark Alesia at 317-444-6311. Follow him on Twitter: @markalesia.