A collision that claimed two lives, including that of an off-duty Las Vegas police officer, has been further complicated by revelations about the wrong-way driver's immigration history. According to FOX5 Vegas, the driver, 31-year-old Fernando Jimenez-Jimenez, had been previously deported from the United States twice.
ICE revealed that Jimenez-Jimenez, a Mexican citizen, entered the U.S. in 2019 and faced expedited removal. Moreover, after applying for admission in the U.S. at Brownsville, Texas, on January 24, 2020, he failed to attend his immigration hearing in December 2021, leading to an immigration judge ordering his removal in absentia. These details come amidst an ongoing investigation into the December 12 accident on I-15, where both Jimenez-Jimenez and Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Officer Colton Pulsipher, were pronounced dead at the scene.
As reported by News 3 LV, the events unfolded when Jimenez-Jimenez drove his Ford F-150 on the wrong side of the northbound Interstate 15 and collided head-on with Pulsipher's vehicle. The crash resulted in another vehicle, a Honda CR-V, sustaining significant damage and injuring its driver after crashing into the Ford once it overturned.
Authorities discovered alcohol and marijuana containers in and around the wreckage of Jimenez-Jimenez's vehicle. Nevada State Police are awaiting official toxicology results from the Clark County Coroner's Office to determine if impairment was a factor in the fatal crash.
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