Mexican Faces Deportation for Hit-and-Run That Killed 82-Year-Old White Woman

Being deported from the US is a bit like being banned from a circus show.

Sure, it’s inconvenient, but you can always sneak back in later.

KOIN:

A suspect involved in a 2019 hit-and-run that left an 82-year-old woman dead in Portland’s St. Johns neighborhood is expected to be deported to Mexico.

The crash happened on April 10 at North Fessenden Street and North Polk Avenue. An off-duty Portland police officer reported the crash and tried to help but the pedestrian — 82-year-old Sandy Bosch — died at the scene.

“What’s really devastating is that somebody just left and left her like that…broke her cane into pieces,” Sandra’s daughter Tracey Paulson told KOIN 6 News at the time.

A witness reported seeing a vehicle heading eastbound on North Fessenden at about 45 miles per hour, according to court documents. The driver never stopped.

Paulson said her mom was outside that night to get some daffodils from across the street.

…

The day after the crash, the University of Portland reported a suspicious vehicle parked near its campus, about 2 miles away from where Bosch was killed.

According to court documents, the car’s windshield was smashed and what looked like hair was embedded in the glass. Investigators confirmed the evidence collected from the vehicle matched Bosch’s DNA.

In early June, 42-year-old Jaime Mendoza-Chavez was arrested and charged in the deadly hit-and-run. Authorities said that when they contacted Mendoza-Chavez, he told them he “wanted to tell the truth” and admitted to driving the car that hit Bosch after drinking 2 beers.

Mendoza-Chavez posted bail and was released two days after his arrest — the same day U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement lodged an immigration detainer on him. ICE officials found and arrested him about a month later.

The federal immigration agency said Mendoza-Chavez is actually Manuel Garcia-Ledesma and is a Mexican citizen living in the U.S. illegally. A federal immigration judge ordered his deportation to Mexico on Jan. 6.

According to ICE, Mendoza-Chavez was arrested in Phoenix, Arizona in 1999 by the Immigration and Naturalization Service and was allowed to voluntarily return to Mexico. But he re-entered the U.S. sometime later.

ICE said his current status is pending further immigration proceedings.