Immigration Agents Arrest Truck Driver Who Killed Bicyclist
Written by Bruce Leshan
9NEWS NOW & wusa9.com
Friday, June 23, 2010
DUN LORING, Va. (WUSA) -- Federal agents have just arrested the alleged illegal immigrant who ran over and killed a bicyclist in near DuPont Circle.
Immigration officers picked up Marco Fuentes Flores almost two years after his truck crushed 22 year old Alice Swanson to death.
The arrest came just two days after 9News Now traveled to Northborough, Mass. to interview Swanson's mom for the first time about the garbage truck operator's long history of bad driving and drug smuggling.
We asked Immigration and Customs Enforcement how Marco Fuentes Flores, who had been convicted of smuggling drugs, done time in federal prison, been kicked out of the country, could be back in the country driving a garbage truck. A truck he was still driving two years after he ran over and killed Alice Swanson.
"I am relieved," said Ruth Rowan after we told her about Fuentes Flores arrest. "This person is dangerous and I kept thinking, how will I feel if I don't say something and he kills someone else."
Agents picked up Fuentes Flores at KMG Hauling in Sterling on Thursday, just after our first interview with the bicyclist's mom. "That news story gave us the information we needed to arrest this convicted criminal alien," said Henry Lucero, director of ICE's DC and Virginia Field Office for Enforcement and Removal.
How Fuentes Flores could still be working for the hauler given his immigration status and his driving record remains a mystery.
"I don't have anything against immigrants. But it seems it was the only way to get him off the road," says Alice Swanson's mother.
There is still a ghost bike painted all white in memory of Swanson where she died at 20th and R Sts. NW. What happened to her is so common, bicyclists have a phrase for it, "the dreaded right hook."
Police suggested Swanson somehow rode herself right into the truck. But several witnesses and independent experts say his front tire drove right over as he took a right turn right into her.
"He had five tickets in the two months before she died. He had another accident eight days before hitting Alice," says Rowan.
A lawyer for KMG Trucking declined to offer any explanation of why the Northern Virginia company continued to employ the driver despite his record. He would only say that the company cooperated with ICE when Fuentes Flores was arrested.
Friday, July 23, 2010
Immigration Agents Arrest Truck Driver Who Killed Bicyclist (WUSA-VA)
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1 comment:
How convenient when a journalist only tells part of the story. Let's set the record straight here:
1. Marcos was convicted of drug related charges much earlier in his life. He served his time and paid his debt to society. This was a long time ago and he has not had a single repeat offense.
2. Marcos came back into this country legally. He has a valid green card and residency. He is NOT an illegal alien.
3. It is a horrendous tragedy that Alice was killed, but Marcos was deemed not responsible and not charged by the police in her death. Unfortunately, traffic accidents happen and we have the police and their experts to help deem who should be responsible. Even the company that Marcos worked for assessed the situation and has stood by him ever since in his defense.
4. The Swanson family filed a civil suit and was awarded $5M dollars for their loss in an out of court settlement.
5. Marcos is a legal resident of this country. He is a good family man with a wife and children and an active member of his church where he organizes many aspects of the liturgy.
When is enough enough? Marcos clearly made a bad choice earlier in his life, but he did what society asked him to do by serving his time. How much does he have to do? What will it take to pay his debt to society? He is a honest, hard-working citizen who pays his taxes and contributes to society. What more do we want?
Is the Swanson family using this drug conviction to further seek retribution over the anger they feel over their daughter's death? Was $5M not enough for them? Do they need to see this good man deported and separated from his family and his life to fulfill their anger? Nothing can ever fill the void of their loss, except for grace and the power of forgiveness.
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